WHO adds new drugs to boost reproductive health

The World Health Organisation has added two products to its list of essential medicine expected to reduce maternal mortality globally.

The 21st edition of the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, released late last year, now adds carbetocin and tranexamic acid to the core list of drugs for reproductive health.

The two are used to manage excessive bleeding in women — post-partum haemorrhage, which is Kenya’s leading cause of maternal deaths.

The two drugs come as a substitute for the regular oxytocin given as an injection whose use had been criticised by healthcare workers due to its sensitivity to heat.

WHO also recommended the use of tranexamic acid after a study showed that its early use as opposed to the third stage of labour as is the case with oxytocin — reduced death.