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Angela Onwuzoo
A non-governmental organisation, FHI 360 Alive & Thrive says increased uptake of Multiple Micronutrient Supplements by pregnant women and women of reproductive age in Nigeria will reduce the high rate of maternal and infant mortality.
The NGO stated that daily intake of MMS by pregnant women throughout the pregnancy life cycle would lead to a significant reduction in anaemia in pregnancy and poor birth outcomes.
The Alive & Thrive initiative, managed by FHI 360, is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Government of Ireland, and other donors.
PUNCH Healthwise reports that the supplements were adopted based on the 2020 World Health Organisation recommendation on antenatal care for positive pregnancy experience.
The MMS tablet is packed with critical micronutrients and contains 13 to 15 vitamins and minerals.
Pregnant women are expected to take the tablet once daily for 180 days in the course of the pregnancy.
According to WHO, MMS is essential for normal physiological function, growth, and development.
Highlighting the benefits of daily intake of MMS during pregnancy and the importance of good maternal nutrition, State Coordinator, FHI 360 Alive & Thrive Lagos, Olawumi Ajayi, said the supplements had been proven to be a major intervention for positive pregnancy outcomes.
Speaking at a recent media roundtable held in Lagos organised by the NGO, Ajayi said that transitioning from iron folic acids for pregnant women to MMS would enable the country to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals on maternal and child nutrition.
The state coordinator stressed that the adoption of MMS would lead to a 40 percent reduction in stunting in children under five; a 50 percent reduction of anaemia in women of reproductive age and a 30 percent reduction in low birth weight.
She disclosed that one in five maternal deaths in the country had been linked to malnutrition, emphasising that good nutrition was crucial during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
Ajayi described MMS as a preventive intervention, affirming that maternal deaths in Nigeria would reduce drastically if pregnant women embraced the supplements.
Experts say Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate is still among the highest in the world, with an estimated 512 deaths per 100,000 live births, which is nowhere near the SDGs target of 70 per 100,000 live births.
Ajayi emphasised that addressing micronutrient deficiencies during pregnancy makes MMS more critical than ever before as women and girls disproportionally bear the burden of compounding crises from climate change to conflict.
She said it had become crucial for pregnant women to embrace MMS, adding that the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia in pregnant women in Nigeria was considered to be high.
Giving deeper insight into the need for media awareness on the uptake of MMS among pregnant women, Ajayi said, “The inherent risk in iron deficiency anaemia in pregnant women as well as the impact of low folic acid on foetal neural structures are well documented.
“Nigeria is one of the countries accounting for over 85 percent of the burden of stunting, stillbirths, and neonatal deaths.
“Despite efforts by the government to control anaemia in pregnancy by adopting Iron and Folic acid Supplementation, the problem has persisted.”
“More so pregnant women in Nigeria as a result of socioeconomic factors have been found deficient in other micronutrients correlated with adverse pregnancy outcomes.
“This necessitates the need for adoption of MMS as a safe and cost-effective way to meet micronutrient requirements of pregnancy and contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goals and Global Nutrition Target”, Ajayi added.
According to her, to prevent maternal anaemia and other micronutrient deficiencies and decrease the risk of diet-related health conditions, pregnant women are recommended to consume an adequately nutritious diet composed of a variety of foods, with emphasis on iron-rich foods (such as beef, poultry, and iron-fortified foods).
She stated, “Daily micronutrient supplementation that includes 30-60 mg of iron and 400 mcg of folic acid as recommended by the WHO (2020)
“Micronutrient supplementation in low resource constrained countries like Nigeria is key because improvements in the natural diet and behavioural change are difficult to achieve over a short period.
“Evidence from current research makes it imperative that combining all micronutrients in a multi-supplement and delivery of multiple micronutrient supplements to women in targeted groups is more programmatically feasible and should be embraced rather than the age-long IFAS.”
She assured that MMS was safe, efficacious, effective, and affordable and could meet micronutrient requirements that poor diets could not.
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