Using Misoprostol to save lives in Madagascar
Antananarivo - Marie Stopes Madagascar (MS Madagascar) has just commenced a three month trial using Misoprostol, which should significantly reduce mortality rates amongst women undergoing unsafe abortion or who suffer from severe bleeding following birth.
In June, MS Madagascar, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Family Planning (MoH) and Venture Strategies Innovation (VSI) officially launched the trial and rollout plan. Participants at the launch were given an overview of the appalling impact of inadequate treatment for post-partum haemorrhage (PPH) and unsafe abortion by Dr Serge Raharison of the MoH. Dr Thierry Ramanantsoa, Project Manager - Misoprostal for MS Madagascar and Dr Jean-Pierre Rakatovao of VSI spoke about the trial.
The trial, called "Saving the lives of Malagasy women", will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the Misoprostol - branded MISOCLEAR in Madagascar - in preventing and treating PPH and treating incomplete abortion. Eight MS Madagascar doctors newly-trained in the use of Misoprostol will train doctors in five neighbouring public health centres.
They will also train local community health volunteers to recruit women participants and administer a client satisfaction questionnaire. This will provide data to support the case for registering the MISOCLEAR brand. MS Madagascar currently uses Oxytocin for prevention and treatment of PPH. However, public health centres and their clients cannot always afford Oxytocin, nor is the necessary refrigerated storage always available. As a result, such centres do not usually use any drugs for PPH.
Lack of treatment for PPH is the major cause of maternal mortality in Madagascar. In this trial, some public health providers will be trained to use Misoprostol, which is cheaper than Oxytocin and does not require refrigeration. Results for women who received no drugs (the current public practice), and those who receive Misoprostol and Oxytocin will be compared.
For treatment of incomplete abortion, MS Madagascar already uses Misoprostol. Neighbouring public health centres will now be trained to follow the same protocol. Data collected from MS Madagascar and public health centres will give evidence of the safety and effectiveness of Misoprostol in treating incomplete abortion, which is
also a major cause of death and injury to Malagasay women.
At the end of the launch, participants were given sneak previews of the packaging and marketing materials for the MISOCLEAR brand. MS Madagascar is confident that the evidence this research will generate will make a compelling case for registering Misoprostol and rolling it out to all public health centres in Madagascar.