Over the past decade, MedShare has played a critical role in strengthening maternal and newborn healthcare systems in West Africa. Today, that work is approaching an important milestone.
MedShare is currently preparing the final 10 container shipments of life-saving medical supplies and biomedical equipment to charitable hospitals in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire—regions long challenged by some of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the world. These shipments represent the final phase of the Safe Birth Initiative (SBI), an innovative collaboration between MedShare, The Coca-Cola Company’s West Africa Business Unit, and the Federal Ministry of Health (Nigeria).
To date, this collaboration has delivered meaningful, measurable impact.
Since its inception in 2017 and official launch in 2018, the Safe Birth Initiative has helped strengthen care delivery across targeted health facilities in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire—supporting safer pregnancies, deliveries, and post-partum outcomes for hundreds of thousands of at-risk women and children in the region. Originally designed to support 15 public hospitals in Nigeria, the program expanded its reach over time to additional facilities in both countries, combining critical equipment donations with hands-on biomedical training to support long-term functionality and use.
Through the delivery of 35 forty-foot containers of life-saving medical supplies and equipment valued at over $52.5 million, SBI will have helped strengthen maternal and neonatal care across West Africa and provided a more stable foundation for continued improvement in health outcomes. Behind each shipment are frontline providers better equipped to respond—and mothers with a safer path to childbirth.
This impact builds on MedShare’s broader footprint in the region. Across all programs, MedShare has helped strengthen healthcare systems serving more than 3.7 million people in Nigeria and over 212,500 people in Côte d’Ivoire, underscoring both the scale of need and the depth of MedShare’s long-standing commitment to improving access to quality care in underserved communities.
Since 2018, MedShare has delivered more than 4,000 pieces of biomedical equipment through this initiative, helping equip hospitals with essential technologies such as patient monitors, anesthesia machines, infant incubators, and diagnostic systems. Just as importantly, MedShare’s Biomedical Services team has provided hands-on training to hundreds of biomedical engineers, technicians, and clinical end-users—helping ensure that this equipment remains functional, safe, and in use over time.
That work continues today.
Currently, Eben Amstrong, MedShare’s Director of Biomedical Engineering & Technical Services, is on the ground in Nigeria providing advanced, hands-on training to clinical and technical leadership at Federal Medical Center (FMC) Asaba. His training includes:
- Sterilization techniques and safety protocols (including temperature and pressure systems, and preventive maintenance)
- Equipment troubleshooting and schematic design, including LED conversion of surgical lighting systems
- Practical instruction in soldering, installation, and biomedical equipment handling, including neonatal technologies such as infant incubators
This work reflects a core principle of the Safe Birth Initiative: pairing the delivery of critical resources with the knowledge required to sustain them.
As global health systems continue to navigate growing demand and constrained resources, efforts like the Safe Birth Initiative highlight the importance of sustained investment in both infrastructure and human capacity. While much of the global conversation around maternal health focuses on access, outcomes are equally shaped by the reliability of equipment, the strength of supply chains, and the training of those responsible for maintaining and using these tools every day.
For Atlanta—home to a strong network of global health organizations, logistics expertise, and corporate leadership—this milestone also reflects the role that cross-sector collaboration can play in supporting health system strengthening beyond U.S. borders.
As MedShare prepares to complete its final shipments under this program, the Safe Birth Initiative stands as a significant milestone in a long-term commitment to improving maternal and neonatal health—one that has expanded clinical capacity, supported healthcare workers, and helped save lives across West Africa.
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