14 October 2026 – The Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Consortium (HMHB) will host its next Coffee & Chai Chat on 28 October 2026 at 9:00 AM EDT | 2:00 PM CET | 6:30 PM IST to explore new evidence on the health and economic benefits of replacing iron and folic acid (IFA) supplements with multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) during pregnancy in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
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The webinar, Why Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) is a Smart Investment in Maternal Health, will feature John Hoddinott, Howard Edward Babcock Professor of Food, Nutrition and Public Policy at Cornell University, who will present findings from a landmark BMJ Global Health study assessing the impact of scaling MMS across 25 LMICs. The analysis estimates that providing MMS to all pregnant women attending at least one antenatal care visit could prevent 7.2 million low birthweight births, more than 473,000 stillbirths, and over 541,000 newborn deaths over five years. The study also demonstrates that MMS is highly cost-effective, with benefit-cost ratios ranging from 11:1 to more than 200:1.
Following the presentation, Dylan Walters, Senior Global Portfolio Director of Health Economics and Nutrition Financing at Nutrition International, will discuss the implications of these findings for policy, financing, and country-level implementation efforts. Participants will also have the opportunity to engage directly with speakers during a live Q&A session. Designed for policymakers, implementers, researchers, donors, and advocates, the discussion will examine why MMS is increasingly being recognized as a high-impact investment for improving maternal and newborn health outcomes.