Goleta, CA—Vitamin Angels has successfully expanded its multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) programs globally in 2022. As a result of Vitamin Angels' efforts, global awareness and recognition of the importance of MMS (also known as prenatal vitamins and minerals) has increased, and there is now greater support for women and infants globally. In collaboration with its partners, Vitamin Angels reported that is has reached more 71 million underserved pregnant women and children with evidence-based nutrition interventions in 2022. The reach extends to approximately 65 countries, including all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico.
"One of our key focuses in 2022 was to expand the number and scope of our MMS programs globally, including within the US, and to help build consensus within the public health community around MMS," said Howard B. Schiffer, Vitamin Angels Founder & President, as well as WholeFoods Magazine's 2021 Person of the Year. "We made significant progress and there is still a lot more work to be done to ensure that every pregnant person in need has access to MMS."
Highlights of Vitamin Angels MMS Programs in 2022:
- Supported Development of Indonesian National MMS Policy: Vitamin Angel shared that one of its largest MMS projects is in Indonesia, with a focus on exploring the introduction of MMS for pregnant women. Vitamin Angels is collaborating with government and academic partners to explore the systematic introduction of MMS within the antenatal system in Indonesia.
- Addressed Global Supply Chain Issues: Vitamin Angels reported that it helped build an effective MMS supply strategy for countries (at the country, regional, and global scale), and addressed challenges of manufacturing and the increasing global demand for MMS. The organization worked in partnership with Kirk Humanitarian to publish UNIMMAP MMS for National Health Systems: Considerations for Developing Supply Strategy. This paper addresses the need to scale the global supply of MMS to meet the growing demand.
- Partnered with UNICEF to Combat Undernutrition in India: The goal of this program is to address the undernutrition of mothers and children up to age five at the population level across India.
Additional 2022 Highlights of Vitamin Angels:
Corporate Partner Impact Achievements:
- Vitamin Angels shared that Walgreens achieved the milestone of reaching more than 350M women and children through its partnership with Vitamin Angels. Walgreens also expanded the Chicago prenatal pilot program, which distributes free Vitamin Angels prenatal vitamins and minerals and nutrition education to underserved pregnant women in the south and west sides of Chicago, through participating Walgreens locations.
- Vitamin Angels partner Bayer reached more than 4M women and children with MMS and played a key role in Vitamin Angels' ability to expand its MMS programs globally.
- Additional corporate partners that Vitamin Angels said gave generously in 2022 included SmartyPants and The Vitamin Shoppe.
Implementation of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program:
Vitamin Angels shared that its 2022 DEI efforts focused on the development of an internal process of continuous stakeholder feedback for all staff regarding DEI training, career advancement, recruitment, and retention. The organization believes that the investment into a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace is important to accomplishing its goals.
New Vitamin Angels Website
Looking to the future
Vitamin Angels shared that it aims to double its impact to reach 140 million women and children annually by 2033. To achieve this, the organization will continue to work with its partners to build consensus around MMS and provide more innovative technical assistance through learning solutions, monitoring and evaluation, and supply chain solutions. Vitamin Angels also plans to expand its scope of work with a more comprehensive package of maternal, infant, and young child nutrition interventions and social behavior change strategies to enhance uptake and adherence.
