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Annual Report 2024-2025 /

Maternal and newborn health and nutrition

Strengthening systems to protect mothers and their newborns.

Nutrition International is dedicated to improving health and nutrition outcomes for both mothers and their newborns through high-quality, comprehensive programming.

Maternal & newborn health & nutrition

Elevating health and nutrition outcomes for mothers and their babies.

We work alongside governments, partners and community-level groups to prevent anaemia in pregnancy, enhance women’s wellbeing and economic potential, increase access to antenatal care, and support newborns to survive and thrive.   

Maternal nutrition

In 2024, we continued working with governments and partners to generate and translate evidence, and provide technical expertise to optimize adherence to daily micronutrient supplementation through the antenatal care (ANC) platform. Key initiatives included our ongoing Advancing Maternal and Newborn Health and Nutrition Through Implementation Research in Pakistan project, funded by the Government of Canada (GAC); the final year of our Gates Foundation-funded implementation research in Nigeria; a national landscape analysis in Senegal, funded by the Eleanor Crook Foundation; and research on iron and calcium adherence in India, funded by GAC.

Nutrition International is recognized as a thought leader in supporting the SMART (sustainable, measurable, attainable, realistic, tailored) introduction and scale-up of multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) as part of comprehensive maternal nutrition programming. MMS delivers 15 essential vitamins and minerals in a single tablet and is as effective at preventing maternal anaemia as iron and folic acid supplementation (IFAS), while being more effective at preventing birth defects. Years of program experience, combined with a systematic research approach, have produced methods and tools adopted nationally in Pakistan and informing policy and practice in many other countries that are considering a transition from IFAS to MMS.

In Pakistan, we are supporting government-led MMS scale-up across 33 districts, with intensive implementation and monitoring in five. Leveraging expertise in maternal nutrition, implementation, research and health economics, we are also helping governments develop costed road maps and explore sustainable financing options for MMS scale-up in resource-constrained contexts. With a strong focus on marginalized populations, Nutrition International is implementing projects such as the Increase Gains in Nutrition by Integration, Evaluation & Empowerment (IGNIT3) in Pakistan and Building Rights for Improved Girl’s Health in Tanzania (BRIGHT), aiming to ensure ANC services are tailored to meet the needs of pregnant adolescents.

Birth and newborn care

Nutrition International’s birth and postnatal care package continues to improve newborn outcomes across Africa and Asia. The package supports skilled birth attendance, appropriate umbilical cord care, skin-to-skin practices, sustained high rates of timely breastfeeding initiation and the adoption of policies for small and vulnerable babies, such as kangaroo mother care. For example, in India, a comprehensive birth package across 18 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat remains a flagship initiative to strengthen facility- and community-based newborn care.

Women-centered approaches and gender equality

Nutrition International continues to advocate for women-centered approaches, recognizing that gender equality and women’s empowerment are critical to improving maternal nutrition. Partnerships with women’s organizations in northern Nigeria, along with mother-to-mother and father-to-father support groups in Kenya and Ethiopia, illustrate our commitment to helping women feel empowered, supporting health-seeking behaviours and promoting positive nutrition practices during pregnancy and early childhood.

Maternal & newborn health & nutrition

Care and connection through MMS in Nigeria.

MMS, a daily dose of 15 vitamins and minerals, is as effective at preventing maternal anaemia as iron and folic acid supplementation and more effective at preventing birth defects.

Image of Care and connection through MMS in Nigeria.

Maternal & newborn health & nutrition

Care and connection through MMS in Nigeria.

In collaboration with the Government of Nigeria and Bauchi State, Nutrition International is introducing MMS into antenatal care through implementation research, testing human-centered approaches to boost adherence and support positive pregnancy journeys.

Image of Care and connection through MMS in Nigeria.

Maternal & newborn health & nutrition

Care and connection through MMS in Nigeria.

Visit a health centre in Bauchi State to see an antenatal care clinic in action.

Watch the video

Image of Care and connection through MMS in Nigeria.

Looking ahead

Scaling what works for healthier beginnings.

Next year, we will remain steadfast in our commitment to advancing comprehensive maternal and newborn health and nutrition. Building on our global and national experience, we will continue to work alongside governments and partners to lead and support the transition and scale-up of MMS across Africa and Asia. Our approach will be anchored in collaboration, ensuring that our proven tools, capabilities and research findings are effectively applied to drive successful and sustainable implementation. Women will remain at the centre of everything we do, with a strong focus on supporting them through every stage of the journey — before, during and after pregnancy. We will advance our efforts to improve newborn survival and healthy development through more intentional programming and a strengthened continuum of care. This includes increasing commitments and mobilizing resources to scale up proven interventions that specifically reduce the incidence of babies being born small and vulnerable.