The Knowledge Hub of the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Consortium brings together existing knowledge, guidance, tools, and other useful resources related to women’s nutrition, maternal nutrition, and evidence-based interventions targeting women, such as prenatal Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS).
It also includes Knowledge Bytes, a series of short videos featuring experts addressing a specific topic related to maternal nutrition and MMS. Click here to watch.
The Knowledge Hub is a dynamic, publicly accessible repository. It will be expanded and further improved over time, and we ask for your help in this. Please share any resources that you believe should be included in this Knowledge Hub, and send them to [email protected].
Key scientific articles on evidence related to MMS.
MMS during pregnancy – Cochrane Review 2019
IPD Analysis on benefits of MMS – 2017
Maternal and Child Undernutrition Progress – The Lancet Series
Top policy briefs and guides for advocating for maternal nutrition and MMS.
FAQ and Advocacy Brief on MMS in WHO’s EML
Useful tools for introducing MMS in countries.
Interim Country-level Decision-making Guidance for Introducing MMS
Formative Research in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Madagascar.
Using nationally representative estimates from the 2017 Global Burden of Disease study, this study conducted an individual-based dynamic microsimulation of population cohorts from birth to 2 years of age in India, Pakistan, Mali, and Tanzania. The effect of maternal nutritional supplementation on infant birth weight, stunting, and wasting was modeled using effect sizes from Cochrane systematic reviews and published literature. The study compared disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) in a baseline scenario with existing antenatal iron folic acid (IFA) coverage with scenarios where 90% of antenatal care (ANC) attendees receive either universal multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS), universal Balanced energy-protein (BEP), or MMS and targeted BEP. Results showed that MMS and targeted BEP averts more DALYs and remains cost-effective compared to universal MMS. As countries consider using MMS in alignment with recent WHO guidelines, offering targeted BEP is a cost-effective strategy that can be considered concurrently to maximize benefits and synergize program implementation.
Alive and Thrive (A&T) provided technical assistance to the Government of Ethiopia (GOE) to strengthen the delivery and uptake of antenatal care (ANC) services and immediate postnatal care (PNC) services while carrying out implementation research between 2019 and 2021 to better understand how to effectively integrate proven maternal nutrition interventions into Ethiopia’s existing package of maternal nutrition interventions (National Nutrition Program – NNPII). To strengthen the evidence base for maternal nutrition programs and policies, A&T developed and tested the integration of an intensive package of maternal nutrition interventions into existing ANC services delivered through government health facilities that will align with the latest global evidence and the NNPIl.
Since 2014, Alive & Thrive (A&T) has been working in partnership with the government of Burkina Faso to improve maternal, infant, and young child nutrition, Early on, A&T’s support focused on assisting in the scale up of the government’s infant and young child (IYCF) feeding guidance and services. In 2017, the government adopted the new maternal nutrition guidelines in response to the revised 2016 WHO ANC guidelines. In 2019, national directives were developed to deliver these guidelines. A&T worked in collaboration with the government and other partners to strengthen the package of maternal nutrition interventions for ANC and carried out implementation research to assess the feasibility and impact of integrating this package of maternal interventions into existing ANC services at primary health centers, known as Centre de Santé et de Promotion Sociale (CSPS) and into community-based health services delivered by the Agents de Santé à Base Communautaire (ASBC) community health workers. This brief shares the results of the implementation research conducted in two regions of Burkina Faso.
Between 2017-2019, Alive and Thrive (A&T) provided technical assistance to the Government of India (GOI) to strengthen the delivery and uptake of antenatal care (ANC) services while carrying out implementation research to better understand how to effectively integrate proven maternal nutrition interventions. These efforts informed the GOl’s design of maternal nutrition program guidelines and identified a feasible package of maternal nutrition interventions-including iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation, calcium supplementation, counseling on maternal diet, weight measurement, and counseling on breastfeeding–to incorporate into the government’s community-based ANC platform. This brief shares the results of the
implementation research conducted in Uttar Pradesh.
This policy brief outlines the cost-effectiveness and investment case in Mozambique to transition from iron-folic acid (IFAS) to multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS).
This policy brief outlines the cost-effectiveness and investment case in Liberia to transition from iron-folic acid (IFAS) to multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS).
This policy brief outlines the cost-effectiveness and investment case in Laos to transition from iron-folic acid (IFAS) to multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS).
This policy brief outlines the cost-effectiveness and investment case in Kenya to transition from iron-folic acid (IFAS) to multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS).
This policy brief outlines the cost-effectiveness and investment case in Haiti to transition from iron-folic acid (IFAS) to multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS).
This policy brief outlines the cost-effectiveness and investment case in Haiti to transition from iron-folic acid (IFAS) to multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS).
