Health Indicators
Programs
Summary: Phase 1. Exploration phase to build an enabling environment
Maternal undernutrition is an urgent public health problem impacting women and children across Mexico. Several organizations, including Sight and Life and Vitamin Angels, have supported efforts to explore the introduction of UNIMMAP MMS in the context of the 2020 WHO recommendation. Vitamin Angels initiated a landscape analysis in 2021 and recommended next steps included updating national guidelines (NOM-007-SSA2-2016) to include UNIMMAP MMS with clear specifications on dosage and duration of supplementation and adding the UNIMMAP MMS formula to Mexico’s Essential List of Medicines. A supply readiness assessment was carried out by Sight and Life in 2015 and 2021. Today, UNICEF Mexico, National Institute of Public Health of Mexico (INSP), Vitamin Angels and other public health stakeholders are leading advocacy efforts to build upon the current research and support implementation in the country. Mexico provided MMS to pregnant women nationwide between 2012 and 2018 and is currently evaluating its reintroduction through ongoing pilot initiatives using UNIMMAP-MMS. Mexico locally produces and imports MMS, which can be purchased in pharmacies or supermarkets and is also available via direct selling or home delivery.
(Sources: HMHB Survey 2021-2023 and HMHB Landscape Analysis of the Antenatal MMS Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean 2025)
Dashboard
Implementation Status
Key Program Actors and Partners
Tools and Resources
Summary: Phase 0. Information Available Without Active Implementation
BEP supplementation at the national level was implemented from 1997 to 2014, but it was discontinued due to concerns with overweight and obesity at the national level and because the government conducted an acceptability study that determined that pregnant and lactating women preferred to take a multiple micronutrient supplement in tablet form.
The BEP supplement was in the form of a fortified milk powder called “Nutrivida,” and was tailored to the needs of the Mexican population (it did not contain vitamin A because the population does not have a vitamin A deficiency) and manufactured by the local company called Lincosa. The company was responsible for storing, shipping, and distributing the product to health facilities. The BEP supplement was available to pregnant and lactating women enrolled in the government’s social assistance program called, “Oportunidades,” and access to the BEP supplement was linked to a conditional cash transfer, requiring women to attend the antenatal care clinics to receive the supplement. Women remained eligible for the intervention until one year postpartum, with doctors and nurses administering the supplement at antenatal care clinics. Given that this program is no longer active, other non-profit organizations (e.g., Un Kilo de Ajuda” or “El Oacto la Primera Infancia”) provide food baskets to those in need.
Sources: BEP Case Studies and Neufeld et al. 2019