By PPH Foundation
Postpartum haemorrhage, PPH, does not stop at national borders. Across Africa, communities, health workers, students and organisations joined the 3rd International EndPPH Run on 27 September 2026, turning the Run for Her campaign into a shared call to prevent women from dying from excessive bleeding after childbirth.
More than 15,000 people gathered at Ulinzi Sports Complex in Nairobi, while participation extended across 25 counties in Kenya and into other African countries. EndPPH communications reported participation from 13 African countries, reflecting the growing regional attention around PPH.
Among the participating countries was Malawi, where teams in Blantyre joined the Run for Her campaign. Other African teams and communities also took part, including participants from Uganda, South Sudan and Cameroon, alongside teams from across the continent.
For countries facing different health-system challenges, the Run provided a common platform to draw attention to a shared maternal health concern. PPH can develop rapidly after childbirth, making timely recognition, skilled care, access to medicines and availability of blood essential components of an effective response.
The African participation also reflected an important principle behind the EndPPH movement: ending preventable maternal deaths requires action beyond hospitals. Communities have a role in understanding PPH, recognising danger signs, supporting blood donation and encouraging women to seek appropriate care during pregnancy and childbirth.
Prof Moses Obimbo, Project Lead of the EndPPH Initiative, has emphasised the importance of taking maternal health advocacy into communities.
“Maternal health and women's health is not just tied in the wards, it is tied to the community,” Prof Obimbo said.
That community focus was visible throughout the Run. In participating countries, people used running and signature activities to connect their own communities to the wider campaign, demonstrating that advocacy can travel across borders even when the activities take place locally.
The African dimension of Run for Her also builds on the EndPPH Initiative's earlier efforts to create a continental movement around PPH. Preparations for the 2026 Run had initially targeted participation in additional African countries, building on the international interest generated by the previous editions.
The message was simple and shared across the continent: no woman should die while giving life.
From Malawi to Uganda, South Sudan, Cameroon and other participating countries, Run for Her created space for communities to speak about a problem that requires collective action. Each participant added visibility to PPH and helped carry the conversation beyond the health facility and into the wider community.
Africa did not run as separate countries on 27 September. It ran around a shared cause: protecting mothers, strengthening communities and advancing the call to end preventable deaths from PPH.