Hypertensive disorders, including pre-eclampsia, are responsible for 16% of all maternal deaths and are associated with increased odds of preterm birth, low birthweight, stillbirth and early neonatal death. Hypertensive disorders are disproportionately prevalent in low-and middle-income countries, where access to quality antenatal care is often lacking. Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy-specific, multi-organ condition caused by impaired blood flow to the placenta. Affecting approximately 4.6% of pregnancies worldwide pre-eclampsia is a dangerous complication of pregnancy that, without detection and management, can progress to eclampsia and threaten life.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to driving public health impact in every country, ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages. Through its unique normative function in health, WHO aims to provide global, evidence-informed recommendations to improve maternal and perinatal health.
WHO has previously published the WHO recommendations on calcium supplementation before and during pregnancy for the prevention of pre-eclampsia and its complications. The primary objective of WHO’s recommendations is to provide a foundation for the strategic policy and programme development needed to ensure the sustainable implementation of effective interventions for improving provision and uptake of quality antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal care for all women and newborns.
With a view towards promoting the best known clinical practices in pregnancy, and improving maternal and newborn outcomes worldwide, including for the prevention of pre-eclampsia, WHO will review the evidence for recommendations related to Calcium supplementation before and during pregnancy for the prevention of pre-eclampsia and its complications. The update of these recommendations were prioritized in November 2023 in the Living Guidelines Prioritization with evidence synthesis completed in 2026.
A Guideline Development Group (GDG) meeting will be held on 11 and 12 August 2026 to review the evidence base on these recommendations. In keeping with the requirements of the WHO Guidelines Review Committee and the WHO Compliance, Risk Management and Ethics Office, we are posting online short biographies of the GDG members. The listed candidates have also submitted a Declaration of Interest form stating any conflict of interests. WHO has applied its internal processes to ensure that the performance of the above tasks by members of this group will be transparent and without any significant conflict of interests (academic, financial, or other) that could affect the credibility of the guideline. Nevertheless, WHO invites the general public to review the experts and stakeholders involved and provide feedback regarding any member deemed to have a significant conflict of interest with respect to the terms of reference for this group. Comments and feedback should be cordial and constructive, and sent to srhmph@who.int.
This WHO normative meeting is by invitation only.
Submission deadline: 7 August 2026
Note
The GDG members are participating in the meeting on their individual capacity. Affiliations are presented only as a reference. The participation of experts in a WHO meeting does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the WHO nor does it create a binding relationship between the experts and WHO. The biographies have been provided by the experts themselves and are the sole responsibility of the individuals concerned. WHO is not responsible for the accuracy, veracity and completeness of the information provided. In accordance with WHO conflict of interest assessment policy, expert’s biographies are published for transparency purposes. Comments and perceptions are brought to the knowledge of WHO through the public notice and comment process. Comments sent to WHO are treated confidentially and their receipt will be acknowledged through a generic email notification to the sender. Please send any comments to the following email: srhmph@who.int. WHO reserves the right to discuss information received through this process with the relevant expert with no attribution to the provider of such information. Upon review and assessment of the information received through this process, WHO, in its sole discretion, may take appropriate management of conflicts of interests in accordance with its policies.