This Advocacy Brief is meant to equip champions and decision-makers to advocate for safe, affordable, and cost-effective nutrition interventions, particularly multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) to improve maternal health.

This FAQ brief addresses frequently asked questions on MMS.

This is an FAQ and Advocacy Brief for the Inclusion of Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) into the WHO’s Model List of Essential Medicines to help improve women’s nutrition during pregnancy.

Following the Abidjan High-Level Meeting which, taking note of the efforts already made at national, regional, and continental levels in the field of nutrition, called for their reinforcement and for the adoption of a common African position to fight against all forms of malnutrition, this declaration was signed on 8 December 2022 by the leaders of Governmental Action of the Member States of the African Union. This is a call to action to “Accelerate investment, implementation, and coordination to improve nutrition and food security in Africa” was signed to “end malnutrition in all its forms, taking particular account of the specific needs of all children, including the youngest, adolescent girls, women, the elderly, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, as well as people in humanitarian crises, with a special focus on women and children in the 1,000-day window between conception and the child’s second birthday”.

This knowledge byte by Dr. Clayton Ajello focuses on considerations for a new supply strategy for multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) to meet the growing global demand.

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess (1) the effect of multiple-micronutrient (MMN) supplementation (MMS) vs iron and folic acid (IFA) supplementation among adolescents on maternal morbidity, birth outcomes, and mortality outcomes, (2) the effects of MMN supplementation in adolescents compared with the effects in adult women, and (3) the effect modification, if any, of MMN supplementation by baseline and geographic characteristics of adolescents. Thirteen randomized controlled trials conducted in Africa and Asia were identified from 1792 reviews and 1578 original trials. Results showed that in adolescents, MMS reduced low birth weight, preterm birth, and small-for-gestational-age births when compared with IFA supplementation. The effects of MMN supplementation did not differ between adolescents and older women, although a potentially greater reduction in small-for-gestational-age births was observed among adolescents. Effect modification by baseline characteristics and geographic region was inconclusive. Thus, MMS can improve birth outcomes among pregnant adolescents in low- and middle-income countries.

In this pooled analysis, authors reanalyzed individual-level biomarker data for micronutrient status from nationally representative, population-based surveys. They estimated the prevalence of deficiency in at least one of three micronutrients for preschool-aged children (iron, zinc, and vitamin A) and for non-pregnant women of reproductive age (iron, zinc, and folate), globally and in seven regions using 24 nationally representative surveys done between 2003 and 2019. The global prevalence of deficiency in at least one of three micronutrients was estimated to be 56% among preschool-aged children, and 69% among non-pregnant women of reproductive age, equivalent to 372 million preschool-aged children and 1·2 billion non-pregnant women of reproductive age.

This report presents scientific evidence in support of antenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) during pregnancy beyond the health benefits of iron-folic acid (IFA) supplementation.

In this Coffee and Chai Chat, Dr. Clayton Ajello and Mr. Spencer Kirk discuss how multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) supply can meet the growing global demand and ensure that vulnerable pregnant women in low and middle-income settings have access to MMS to help improve their nutrition and pregnancy outcomes.

In this Knowledge Byte, Dr. Martin Mwangi discusses the global scope and scale of maternal malnutrition and the role of multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) to mitigate it.