A new partnership is aimed at decreasing the number of stillborn and newborn deaths by increasing the number of pregnant women who know their syphilis status.
The partnership, announced Monday, between MedAccess, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and SD Biosensor is working to make a rapid test, which checks for both syphilis and HIV, more widely available in low- and middle-income countries. They will make it accessible to over 100 countries with a cost of less than $1 when purchased by the public sector.
Volume guarantees: The partnership is built on innovative financing. MedAccess has provided a volume guarantee to SD Biosensor, which is the South Korean diagnostics company that makes the test. The volume guarantee reduces the risk the company takes on so it can depend on predictable sales in the coming years. If sales fall below a certain level, MedAccess will provide the company with compensation. This has allowed SD Biosensor to reduce the price of the tests by about 32% — which is the lowest price available for the test on the market.
Unknown status: According to the organizations, many pregnant women know their HIV status, because it is part of routine testing in many countries. But that’s not the case for syphilis tests, which is a far less utilized test. Each year, more than 210,000 stillbirths and newborn deaths are linked to congenital syphilis — which is preventable. Treatment includes an off-patent penicillin that is affordable and widely available. According to the organizations, about 6 million pregnant women in the 10 highest burden countries globally know their HIV but not their syphilis status.
“Every year hundreds of thousands of syphilis infections pass undiagnosed from mothers to their unborn children, resulting in stillbirths, congenital defects, or deaths of their newborns,” wrote Joy Phumaphi, interim co-chief executive officer of CHAI, in a press release.
About the author
Sara Jervingsarajerving
Sara Jerving is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers global health. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, VICE News, and Bloomberg News among others. Sara holds a master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was a Lorana Sullivan fellow. She was a finalist for One World Media's Digital Media Award in 2021; a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists in 2018; and she was part of a VICE News Tonight on HBO team that received an Emmy nomination in 2018. She received the Philip Greer Memorial Award from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 2014.
