The Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Bill Gates has announced that Nigeria will soon receive three million bottles of multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) specifically designed for pregnant women.
MMS are formulated to provide essential vitamins and minerals needed for foetal development and maternal health.
Speaking at the 2024 NutriVision, a pan-African dialogue held in Abuja to discuss innovative solutions for combating malnutrition in Africa, Gates highlighted the positive strides made by the BMGF in developing countries like Nigeria.
Among these achievements is the significant reduction in infant mortality rates.
“Particularly getting vaccines to more children and adding new vaccines. Together with a group, we helped create the Global Alliance for Vaccines,” Gates said.
“New vaccines for diarrhea and pneumonia were added and distributed to the majority of children. That has literally saved millions of lives and improved children’s health.”
Despite these advancements, Gates acknowledged that malnutrition remains a significant challenge in Nigeria.
He emphasized the foundation’s focus on ensuring pregnant women receive adequate nutrition to support healthy pregnancies and improve neonatal outcomes.
“The vitamins that you get during pregnancy as you do those prenatal visits, we’ve added new vitamins. We have a thing called the multiple micronutrient supplement (MMS),” Gates explained.
“I just heard that three million bottles of MMS are coming into the country. Soon, mothers will receive these additional vitamins.”
Gates noted that the introduction of MMS could prevent two million cases of maternal anemia and potentially save the lives of 70,000 babies.
He also underscored the foundation’s efforts to lower the cost of these supplements and increase awareness among mothers.
“Malnutrition affects the most rural and low-income communities, so we need to ensure our outreach reaches these areas and that these messages are effectively communicated to women,” Gates added.
“Primary healthcare systems must support these efforts.”
The delivery of MMS to Nigeria will be facilitated by the Gates Foundation in collaboration with the Kirk Spencer Foundation.
