Devex: Opinion: Engaging nutrition to improve pregnancy outcomes
Klaus Kraemer, managing director of Sight and Life and adjunct associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

“…For mothers, ensuring a healthy pregnancy limits the risk of life-threatening complications. And for their children, good nutrition during pregnancy can be the difference between being born healthy and being born physically or mentally disadvantaged. … [I]t is imperative that we reach women and girls with effective interventions for improving maternal nutrition that are ready for global scale-up now. Multiple micronutrient supplementation, or MMS, during pregnancy could be one way to help meet maternal nutrition needs. … [P]opulations that would especially benefit from MMS are those in countries with a high prevalence of anemia or underweight in women of reproductive age. … Implementing MMS globally would save lives and give more babies the healthy start they deserve, no matter where they live. … Collaboration is key: Governments, civil society, and the private sector must work together to build a supply of MMS at a high quality that is readily accessible and affordable” (12/17).