The calibrated drape helps reduce deaths from postpartum hemorrhage. Photo Credit: Unitaid/Natalia Jidovanu
Every year, thousands of women die needlessly from a condition that is both preventable and treatable: postpartum hemorrhage (PPH).
Responsible for more maternal deaths than any other cause globally, PPH remains a silent crisis, especially in low- and middle-income countries, where up to half of the cases go undetected or are caught too late.
Now, a simple plastic sheet might change that.
Jhpiego, with US$2.3 million in support from Unitaid, is scaling up the use of a low-cost, life-saving device known as a calibrated drape—a tool that allows birth attendants to quickly and accurately measure blood loss after delivery.
The announcement was made in a Unitaid news release dated June 11, 2025.
Integrated into the broader Accelerating Measurable Progress and Leveraging Investments for Postpartum Hemorrhage Impact (AMPLI-PPHI) project, the initiative aims to make childbirth safer for women in countries where access to maternal health interventions remains limited.
“Postpartum hemorrhage can very quickly become life-threatening. Visually estimating blood loss delays access to critical treatment. Unitaid and Jhpiego aim to help countries answer questions about how best to implement this innovative blood loss measurement device alongside PPH medicines to reduce maternal deaths through cost-effective interventions,” said Dr. Jeffrey Smith, Senior Technical Manager at Unitaid.
The calibrated drape, though deceptively simple, addresses a critical gap.
It hangs off the end of a delivery bed and collects blood into a transparent pouch with clear measurement markings.
Unlike visual estimation, which can be highly inaccurate, this allows for immediate detection of abnormal bleeding, giving health workers the chance to intervene swiftly.
Backed by additional support from the Gates Foundation, the rollout is now underway in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Guinea, and India, with catalytic procurement planned in Rwanda.
The intervention is part of the (AMPLI-PPHI) project—a US$26.7 million initiative funded by Unitaid.
In Kenya, early signs from Makueni County offer a glimpse of what the device could make possible.
After integrating the calibrated drape into local health services, no maternal deaths from postpartum hemorrhage were recorded in public facilities in 2023 and 2024.
“A birth should be a joyous occasion, not a tragedy,” said H.E. Mutula Kilonzo Junior, Governor of Makueni County.
“It’s heartbreaking that women continue to die from postpartum hemorrhage. But with early detection and immediate intervention, we are saving lives.”
AMPLI-PPHI’s goal is to expand access to a comprehensive care package that includes not just detection tools but also critical medicines—heat-stable carbetocin, tranexamic acid, and misoprostol.
These drugs are proven to prevent and treat PPH but are often unavailable or inaccessible in the regions that need them most.
In Nigeria and Zambia, integration of the calibrated drape is already underway through SafeBirth Africa, a Unitaid-UNFPA collaboration supported by the European Union.
The new funding ensures the device will now be introduced more widely across all project countries.
Health officials in the participating countries see the move as a game-changer.
“It is with great joy that we welcome the imminent arrival of calibrated drapes in Guinea,” said Dr. Siré Camara, Head of the National Directorate of Family Health and Nutrition.
“This will improve the quality of diagnosis and guide appropriate case management through the eMOTIVE approach.”
In DRC, the challenge of objectively quantifying blood loss has long complicated care. Healthcare providers often struggle to make timely decisions, resulting in delayed referrals and preventable deaths.
“We have found that healthcare providers have difficulty objectively quantifying blood loss during childbirth,” said Dr. Chantal Lusikila, Head of the Family Health Division at the Ministry of Public Health.
“These delays compromise the chances of successful treatment. This initiative offers the country an opportunity to reduce maternal mortality and achieve its SDGs by 2030.”
AMPLI-PPHI was launched in 2022 and runs through 2026, with programming across six countries: DRC, Guinea, India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia.
Beyond distributing products, the initiative focuses on generating evidence, creating enabling environments, and preparing the market for the broad uptake of innovations in maternal health.
“With more than 50 years of experience helping countries improve maternal health services, we are proud to partner with Unitaid,” said Dr. Leslie Mancuso, Jhpiego President and CEO.
“This innovative solution ensures timely detection of postpartum hemorrhage and helps health workers act quickly and decisively—saving lives by ensuring rapid response when every second counts.”
As AMPLI-PPHI moves forward, stakeholders are hopeful the project will not only transform maternal care systems but also influence global standards in how PPH is detected and treated.
About Unitaid
Unitaid is a global health organization that saves lives by making new health products available and affordable for people in low- and middle-income countries.
Unitaid works with partners to identify innovative treatments, tests, and tools, help tackle the market barriers that are holding them back, and get them to the people who need them most – fast.
Since Unitaid was created in 2006, the organization has unlocked access to more than 100 groundbreaking health products to help address the world’s biggest health challenges, including HIV, TB, and malaria; women’s and children’s health; and pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
Every year, more than 300 million people benefit from the products Unitaid has helped roll out. Unitaid is hosted by the World Health Organization.
About Jhpiego
Jhpiego is a global health nonprofit with more than 50 years of experience innovating to save the lives of women, men, and families around the world.
Originally established in 1973 as the Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics, Jhpiego has since evolved into a multidimensional organization with active programming in over 30 countries.
In partnership with national governments, health experts, and local communities, Jhpiego creates and delivers transformative health care solutions that build providers’ skills, strengthen health systems, and ensure equitable access to high-quality, lifesaving care for all, regardless of location.
