STAKEHOLDERS in Nigeria’s health sector have called for a scale-up of Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) to reach all pregnant women in the country.

They made the call on Thursday in Abuja during the launch of research findings on Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) landscaping and segmentation in the nation.

According to the findings, MMS can provide adequate nutrition for the 7.8 million pregnancies recorded annually in Nigeria and help reduce the high burden of maternal anaemia.

It showed that while MMS offers broader nutrient support than iron and folic acid supplementation and is strongly accepted by women when available, affordable and properly explained, long-term scale-up would require stronger public financing, protection for low-income women, and a more reliable supply system.

The study, commissioned by Sight and Life, with support from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and conducted by development Research and Projects Center (dRPC), revealed that the nationwide rollout of MMS is severely hindered by fragmented funding, high costs for mothers, and a massive supply deficit.

Presenting the data, the Lead Researcher, Stanley Ukpai, a doctor, warned that policy intentions must be backed by structural solutions to achieve meaningful impact.

“The research findings show that policy ambition alone will not deliver impact unless financing, access and supply constraints are addressed together,” Ukpai stated.

He added that long-term success relies on institutionalising public funding, lowering costs for low-income families, and building a reliable supply network.

The research highlighted that existing health financing systems are inadequate to support equitable access, leaving maternal nutrition services heavily dependent on inconsistent donor funding and out of pocket spending by patients.

Commenting on the significance of the data, Executive Director of Nutrition at CIFF, Anna Hakobyan, noted that the data offered a clear roadmap for future intervention strategies.

Hakobyan explained that the findings provided valuable evidence and practical insights to support Nigeria’s efforts to integrate micronutrient supplementation as part of wider sustainable maternal and child nutrition strategies.

In her remarks, the country programme manager for Sight and Life, Zainab Abubakar, noted that the survey was designed to provide actionable data for the government. She noted that limited funding, weak insurance inclusion, and heavy dependence on out-of-pocket spending continued to create barriers to equitable access to maternal nutrition services in Nigeria.

The Special Adviser to the President on Health, Salma Anas, a doctor, concluded that maternal nutrition remained central to the country’s development agenda, stressing that the focus must shift toward effective and equitable implementation across Nigeria.

Similarly, the Director of Nutrition at the Ministry of Health, Adegbite Olufunmilola, saidsteps were already being taken to institutionalise MMS into national antenatal care guidelines. She suggested utilising public budgets, health insurance schemes, and local manufacturing to secure supply sustainability. However, she emphasised that its success would depend on moving from policy to action.

“The Federal Government has demonstrated high-level commitment to improving nutrition outcomes but stronger implementation at national and subnational levels remains essential,” Olufunmilola added.

Highlights of the launch included panel discussions on the financing and policy landscape, demand equity and consumer behaviour, supply landscape and market structure, with participants identifying practical actions for federal and subnational governments to accelerate the adoption and scale-up of MMS for pregnant women in the country.