18 October 2024 – From October 16-18, 2024, the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies (HMHB) Consortium, hosted by the Micronutrient Forum in collaboration with Kenya’s State Department for Public Health, held the 2nd Africa Maternal Nutrition and Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. Themed #EmpowerHer: A Unified Path to MMS Success in Africa, the invite-only event gathered over 130 leaders from 17 African countries to accelerate the adoption and scale-up of MMS to improve maternal health.
Countries have made significant progress since the last meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with many now taking charge of their own MMS agendas and collaborating through a community of practice. Key institutions, such as the African Union Commission and the African Development Bank, expressed strong support for maternal nutrition and MMS. Initiatives like UNICEF’s Maternal Nutrition Acceleration Plan and the Child Nutrition Fund, alongside new advocacy and financing tools, are driving further momentum.
The film, #EmpowerHer, showcases how African countries are taking action to scale up MMS, building on the momentum from the 2024 Africa Maternal Nutrition and MMS Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya.
Many countries are shifting from considering MMS adoption to planning for its large-scale implementation. They are moving beyond proof of impact, pilot projects, and demonstrations and leveraging implementation science to inform effective implementation and scale-up. With sufficient financial and technical support available, barriers to scaling MMS—such as resources and supply – should not hold countries back from long-term, sustainable strategies.
The ‘Call to Action’ reflects the collective expertise, experiences, and recommendations of delegates across Africa, developed during the meeting. Grounded in evidence-based discussions and enriched by diverse regional perspectives, it charts a shared path for accelerating the adoption and scale-up of maternal nutrition interventions, notably MMS as a part of essential antenatal care services to improve maternal and child health outcomes in Africa.
The Report summarizes the main discussion points, key takeaways, and recommended priority actions from the meeting.
The ‘Call to Action’ reflects the collective expertise, experiences, and recommendations of delegates across Africa, developed during the meeting. Grounded in evidence-based discussions and enriched by diverse regional perspectives, it charts a shared path for accelerating the adoption and scale-up of maternal nutrition interventions, notably MMS as a part of essential antenatal care services to improve maternal and child health outcomes in Africa.
