ISLAMABAD: A plan has been finalised to provide multi-micronutrient supplementation (MMS) to over two million pregnant women.

In this regard, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan received a senior delegation from Junaid Family Foundation to finalise the programme.

According to a statement, the programme will contribute to the achievement of the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to address nutritional imbalances in women and children and allow for a healthier and more productive nation.

“Under instructions from the prime minister, the Ministry of National Health Services has been working with stakeholders to prepare a comprehensive plan to address malnutrition in Pakistan. MMS will be one of the interventions which will contribute to decreasing malnutrition in pregnant women,” it stated.

MMS supplementation was included in the global list of approved essential medicines by the World Health Organisation (WHO) earlier this year and the latest recommendation is to provide MMS to pregnant women. This supplement reduces anaemia in pregnant women decreasing chances of maternal mortality and improving the birth weight of babies.

The foundation in close collaboration with Kirk Humanitarian USA has offered to provide MMS supplements and it will also support the government in distribution and enhanced use of MMS for the next five years.

The health ministry previously signed a letter of interest with the foundation and its supporters Kirk Foundation to carry out a process evaluation of a study and implementation of supplying MMS to the needy population especially in Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad and Azad Kashmir which will provide a baseline for enhancing the support to other parts of Pakistan.

Supplements for 130,000 pregnant women have already arrived in the country and a further supplement for two million women is expected in the next year.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2021