18 October 2025 – The Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies (HMHB) Consortium, hosted by the Micronutrient Forum (MNF), in collaboration with Kenya’s State Department for Public Health, organized the 2nd Africa Maternal Nutrition and Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) Technical Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, from 16-18 October 2024. 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.
Key Publications and Resources
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.
Explore key publications and resources resulting from the 2nd Africa Maternal Nutrition and MMS Technical Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, from 16-18 October 2024, that outline how MMS can be integrated and scaled into antenatal care services in African nations.
Position Paper - Scaling Up Antenatal MMS in Africa: A Unified Call for Action
A recent position paper published by HMHB and presented at IUNS-ICN 2025, captures six strategic resolutions endorsed by 17 African countries, outlining a pathway for integrating and scaling MMS into antenatal care services. Developed during the 2nd Africa Maternal Nutrition and MMS Technical Meeting in 2024, the paper articulates Africa’s commitment to ensure that no woman goes through pregnancy without access to the nutrients she needs for her health and her baby’s survival.
Read the position paper-
Call to Action
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.
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Meeting Report
The Report summarizes the main discussion points, key takeaways, and recommended priority actions from the meeting.
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Watch the film, expert interviews and Knowledge Bytes from the meeting
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Expert Interviews
Expert Interview: Veronica Quartey, Ministry of Health, Ghana
Expert Interview: Julia Rotich, Ministry of Health, Kenya
Expert Interview: Phoster Chimbizgani Kachali, Ministry of Health, Malawi
Expert Interview: Samson Desie, UNICEF, Rwanda
Expert Interview: Idrissa Kamara, Sierra Leone
Expert Interview: Adan Yusuf Mahdi, Somalia
Expert Interview: Ray Masumo, Tanzania
Expert Interview: Danika Van-Wyk, dsm-firmenich
Expert Interview: Moustapha Thiam and Maguette Fall Beye, Senegal – French
Expert Interview: Mahamadi Cissé, Burkina Faso – French
Expert Interview: Bruno Bindamba and David Kalombo, Democratic Republic of the Congo – French
Expert Interview: Narindra Razafimalaza, UNICEF, Madagascar – French
Watch now -
Knowledge Bytes
Leveraging the Child Nutrition Fund to Advance MMS
Saul Guerrero Oteyza, Senior Advisor, Financing for Child Nutrition and Development, UNICEF HQ
The Cost of Inaction on Maternal Nutrition and MMS Cost-Effectiveness
Dylan Walters, Project Director, Health Economics, Nutrition International
The Role of a Product Specification in Securing a High Quality UNIMMAP MMS Product
Clayton Ajello, Senior Technical and Strategic Advisor, Kirk Humanitarian and Senior Technical Advisor, Vitamin Angels
Determining the Cost of MMS Roadmaps
Amy Roberts, Associate Director, Market Shaping, Results for Development (R4D)
Metrics and Indicators for Maternal Nutrition in Africa
Geoffrey Lairumbi, Monitoring, Evaluation Accountability and Learning Specialist, African Leaders for Nutrition Initiative (ALNI)
Acceptability of MMS – Definitions and Approaches
Mihaela Ciulei, Program Manager, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Consortium, Micronutrient Forum
Regulatory Issues: Drug Versus Supplement
Wendafrash Abera, Food Safety and Nutrition Technical Advisor, Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority
Nigeria: Including MMS in National Essential Medicines List
Uruakpa John, Director and Head Nutrition Special Programmes Division, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Nigeria
Evidence Based Advocacy Tools
Filomena Gomes, Senior Program Manager & Rijuta Pandav, Advocacy and Communications – HMHB Consortium, Micronutrient Forum
Lessons and Best Practices for MMS Scale-up in Ethiopia
Ramadhani Noor, UNICEF
Enablers, and Barriers to Local Manufacturing of MMS
Monique Smorenburg, DSM
Adherence Definitions and Approaches
Kristine Garn, Helen Keller Intl.
Landscape of Maternal Nutrition Policies in Africa and Opportunities
Lucy Murage, African Union Commission
MMS Country Experiences Burkina Faso
Mahamadi Cisse, Burkina Faso
Domestic Financing for MMS Scale-up
Paul Musila, CECM-Health, Makueni County – Kenya
Strengthening MMS Delivery Platforms
Lucy Kanya, Vitamin Angels
New Guidelines for Humanitarian Settings
Emily Mates, UNICEF
MMS Country Experiences Rwanda
Samson Desie, UNICEF
MMS Delivery Platform Experience in Somalia
Abdullahi Muse, MoH, Somalia
MMS Country Readiness Assessment
Martin Mwangi, Program Lead, HMHB
UNICEF Improving Maternal Nutrition Acceleration Plan
Emily Mates, UNICEF
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