Empowered Women, Transformed Generations: The Global Impact of Maternal Nutrition
Perspectives from philanthropists
The Nutrition For Growth Summit took place in Paris 27-28 March 2025. #N4G brought together governments, civil society organisations and philanthropists working on malnutrition. In the margins of the summit, the Eleanor Crook Foundation (ECF) was pleased to co-host a side event entitled Empowered Women, Transformed Generations: The Global Impact of Maternal Nutrition alongside the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) with support from the Gates Foundation and Kirk Humanitarian. During the discussion, nutrition experts from Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nepal and Uganda shared their experiences on tackling maternal malnutrition through multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS).
ECF CEO and President Will Moore introduced the event with a message of hope, highlighting the progress made in the last two hundred years on child mortality thanks to public health systems, vaccinations, sanitation and modern agriculture. But, he reminded the audience, this good news story is also one of inequality. In some countries, one in ten children still do not make it to their 5th birthday; across the world, a child dies every 11 seconds from malnutrition. MMS offers one of the many proven, and scalable solutions to this problem, recognised by the international scientific and medical community: it is time to seize the opportunity for a new child survival revolution.
The mission of the Eleanor Crook Foundation is clear - to fight for a world where malnutrition is no longer robbing women and children of their futures. 20 years of research has shown taking MMS rather than IFA results in a 19% reduction in low birth weight, 21% in stillbirths, and a 29% in infant mortality. Our community can show a beleaguered world that progress is still possible, and ensure child survival is a given, and not a gamble. [Will Moore]
Opening the discussion, French 3 Star Michelin chef Hélène Darroze underlined in the same way that the popular saying “we are what we eat” takes on a very different meaning for the millions of women and children who do not have access to sufficient nutrients to survive and thrive. With malnutrition as the primary cause of infant mortality, 45 million children and one billion young women suffering from malnutrition worldwide, Darroze emphasised that preparing food is not just about feeding others, but making a statement about universal access to quality nutrients.
What we feed our children shapes their future. Every mouthful and every nutrient counts; eating well means living well. Malnutrition is a silent scourge which wrecks lives. We must act, and act now: eating the right kind of food should be a right, not a privilege. [Hélène Darroze]
Philanthropic action on malnutrition: a roadmap to 2030
Philanthropic speakers also highlighted the correlation between nutrition and maternal outcomes. Kirk Humanitarian already provides 90% of global MMS supply, as Olivia Kirk shared with the audience, but more production is needed, and no single organisation could respond to that need alone. She saw MMS as a highly cost-effective, proven-impact intervention in the fight against malnutrition for women and infants. This is why Kirk Humanitarian is investing $125m to close the gap in supply in MMS worldwide and ensure that pregnant women no longer have to face the devastating question: “how will I provide for my unborn child?”.
This is a critical time. Each of us must step up and ask how we can individually be involved to make sure that this essential intervention is in the hands of women of all nationalities, races and socioeconomic classes. [Olivia Kirk]
Anna Hakobyan, Chief Impact Officer and Executive Director for Nutrition for CIFF, co-hosting the event, reiterated the scale of the challenge: two thirds of women and girls suffered from micronutrient deficiencies. To respond to this, an alliance of philanthropic partners working on nutrition - CIFF, Kirk Humanitarian, the Gates Foundation and ECF - are launching a new roadmap to deliver MMS to 260 million women by 2030. Based on research and data from civil society and country partners, this objective is costed at 1 billion USD, with an initial pledge from the four philanthropic partners of $250 million pledge at the #N4G summit.
We believe that when embedded in strong health and nutrition services, micronutrient supplements such as MMS have a vital role in providing a healthy pregnancy for women. [Anna Hakobyan]
Rahul Rawat, Deputy Director for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Nutrition & Health at the Gates Foundation, stressed the importance of working together on nutrition: the roadmap cannot be achieved by philanthropic investment alone. Partner governments, bilateral and multilateral actors need to join the alliance and build on existing efforts, such as the UNICEF Child Nutrition Fund, which already demonstrated what was possible in a collective drive to incentivise supply, leadership and smart investment; particularly the dollar-for-dollar matching of domestic government investment. In parallel, the international community should learn from innovative mechanisms implemented in the vaccination field to incentivise vaccine supply and drive down supply costs, helping governments to pass on those savings and enable local production chains.
The solutions and the financing exist; what is really needed now is coordination and increased risk tolerance from donors and country governments; a boldness, to bring it together. [Rahul Rawat]
The panel also included a discussion moderated by Shawn Baker, Chief Programme Officer at Helen Keller Intl, with nutrition experts from partner countries, sharing their reasons for supporting MMS - and the lessons learned along the way.
ECF continues to investigate partnerships and opportunities to support the growing movement of countries interested in bringing MMS to scale. As announced during our event in Paris, we are calling on other public and private donors to join us in supporting a roadmap to reach 260 million women by 2030 mobilizing $1 billion by the UN General Assembly in September 2025. ECF and our partners are determined to seize this moment to bring about the next child survival revolution and ensure that women and children everywhere can survive, and thrive.
