Health
Nigeria targets expanded MMS coverage for pregnant women
Nigeria is intensifying efforts to expand access to Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) for pregnant women, with health authorities pushing for increased local production and sustainable financing to reduce dependence on donor support.
The move was highlighted on Thursday in Abuja during a validation meeting on findings from the 2025 Market Landscaping and Segmentation Analysis.
Speaking at the event, Olufunmilola Adegbite, Director and Head of the Nutrition Department at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, said strengthening domestic manufacturing would be crucial to achieving the country’s maternal health targets.
“Local production will be critical in achieving the country’s ambition for reaching pregnant women with MMS and ensuring long-term sustainability,” she said.
According to Ms Adegbite, local manufacturing would improve the availability of supplements, reduce dependence on imports, and protect supply chains from global disruptions.
Six-state study
The 2025 market landscape analysis covered Lagos, Kano, Bauchi, Imo, Niger and Bayelsa, selected to reflect Nigeria’s diverse geographical zones and market segments.
Commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with Sight and Life and the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), the study examined financing systems and broader implementation requirements needed to support nationwide MMS scale-up.
Researchers assessed existing health financing mechanisms alongside key implementation enablers, including supply chains, regulatory frameworks and stakeholder engagement.
Why MMS matters
MMS are daily antenatal supplements containing iron, folic acid and other essential vitamins and minerals needed to support maternal nutrition and healthier birth outcomes.
Unlike conventional iron-folic acid supplements, MMS provide a broader range of micronutrients.
Evidence suggests the intervention can further reduce the risks of low birth weight, preterm delivery and other adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Ms Adegbite said Nigeria has made significant progress in aligning with global maternal nutrition standards.
According to her, MMS was approved for use in 2021, incorporated into the National Essential Medicines List and integrated into national guidelines on micronutrient deficiency control and antenatal care management.
“These achievements demonstrate Nigeria’s commitment to improving maternal and newborn nutritional outcomes,” she said.
Financing remains critical
Despite these policy gains, Ms Adegbite said considerable work remains to ensure effective implementation and wider access.
She identified sustainable financing as a major requirement for expansion, noting that mechanisms such as the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) and dedicated federal and state budget allocations could help support broader coverage.
She added that findings from the market analysis would provide evidence to guide policy decisions, investment priorities and implementation strategies.
Although progress has been made in institutionalising MMS, she said challenges persist in supply systems, regulation, financing and stakeholder coordination.
Concerns over donor dependence
In her remarks, the Country Manager of Sight and Life, Zainab Abubakar, said the study sought to identify sustainable pathways for financing MMS within Nigeria’s health system.
Ms Abubakar noted that inadequate funding, limited insurance coverage and heavy reliance on out-of-pocket spending continue to restrict access to maternal nutrition services.
“The research assessed the health financing landscape in Nigeria to identify viable pathways for sustainable domestic financing,” she said.
“It explored opportunities for resource mobilisation, evaluated potential funding mechanisms, highlighted implementation bottlenecks and developed context-specific recommendations.”
‘Women’s issues need funding’
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the President on Health and dRPC board member, Salma Anas, called for stronger political commitment to maternal nutrition programmes.
Ms Anas said anaemia in pregnancy remains a major public health challenge and urged leaders to prioritise investments that benefit women and children.
According to her, programmes targeting women and children often struggle to attract adequate funding because they are incorrectly viewed as issues affecting only women.
“Every woman’s issue is a man’s business,” she said.
“Let us do away with the woman’s issue. Let’s budget it. Let’s release it and let it be used for the intended purpose.”
Background
Nigeria adopted MMS following global recommendations and growing evidence that the intervention provides greater nutritional benefits than traditional iron-folic acid supplements.
According to UNICEF, MMS contains 15 essential vitamins and minerals and has become the global reference standard for maternal micronutrient supplementation.
READ ALSO: Study ranks Lagos and Kano as the most ready for maternal supplement rollout
PREMIUM TIMES reported in 2024 that the federal government distributed about 1.3 million bottles of MMS to pregnant women across 12 states during the early phase of implementation.
UNICEF later announced that Nigeria would receive an additional 3 million bottles in 2025 through the Child Nutrition Fund, following the delivery of 3 million bottles in 2024.
However, with an estimated 12 million pregnancies recorded annually, stakeholders say existing supplies remain insufficient, highlighting the need for expanded coverage and stronger domestic investment.
They argue that shifting from donor-dependent supply chains to local manufacturing and market-based financing mechanisms will be essential to ensuring the long-term sustainability of MMS scale-up.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has announced the start of the world’s first human clinical trial of a vaccine developed specifically against the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, with the first volunteer vaccinated at the University of Oxford.
The announcement was contained in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday by CEPI’s Senior Communications and Advocacy Manager, Jodie Rogers.
The Phase I clinical trial, known as BD-Ebov, will evaluate the safety of the experimental vaccine and its ability to stimulate immune responses in healthy adult volunteers.
The vaccine candidate, ChAdOx1 BDBV, was developed by scientists at the University of Oxford’s Oxford Vaccine Group and the Pandemic Sciences Institute using the same adenoviral vector technology employed in the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
According to the statement, the milestone comes only weeks after the launch of the BD-Ebov study and marks the first time the ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine has been administered to humans.
It said the vaccine development programme had progressed rapidly through collaboration among the University of Oxford, its Clinical BioManufacturing Facility, the Serum Institute of India (SII) and CEPI.
The statement added that SII manufactured the vaccine candidate in record time and has stockpiled approximately 620,000 doses, while providing 4,000 investigational doses for the ongoing clinical trial.
CEPI said the trial forms part of an $8.6 million programme supporting the University of Oxford and SII to accelerate the development of a vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain.
Ebola outbreak
NAN reports that the trial comes as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) battles a severe outbreak of Bundibugyo Ebola Virus Disease, with more than 2,500 confirmed cases and over 1,000 deaths recorded.
Unlike the Zaire strain of Ebola, for which licensed vaccines are available, there is currently no approved vaccine specifically targeting the Bundibugyo strain.
David Pulido-Gomez, Global Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls Lead at the Pandemic Sciences Institute, said the vaccine candidate moved from concept to clinical evaluation within just eight weeks.
“Reaching this milestone in such a short timeframe reflects an extraordinary collaborative effort,” he said.
“Working alongside colleagues at the Clinical BioManufacturing Facility and the Serum Institute of India, we have taken this vaccine candidate from concept to clinic in just eight weeks.”
The Lead Study Doctor, Peter Skydmore, described the vaccination of the first participant as a significant milestone.
Mr Skydmore said while these are very early days, they represent an important first step in evaluating this vaccine in humans.
“Over the coming months, we will continue vaccinating and monitoring participants while assessing the vaccine’s safety and immune responses,” he said.
Chief Investigator, Katrina Pollock, said the commencement of the trial marked another important phase in the multinational effort to develop a vaccine against the Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
Ms Pollock commended the commitment of research partners and volunteers, saying their participation was critical to responding to the ongoing outbreak.
Commenting on the development, CEPI Chief Executive Officer, Richard Hatchett, said the worsening outbreak in the DRC underscored the urgency of developing a vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain.
“With Bundibugyo cases increasing at a concerning rate in the DRC, this epidemic shows no signs of stopping,” he said.
“The need for a vaccine against this specific Ebolavirus becomes more urgent every day.”
Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer of SII, Adar Poonawalla, said the rapid manufacture of the vaccine candidate demonstrated how scientific innovation and scalable production could accelerate responses to emerging infectious diseases.
He reaffirmed the institute’s commitment to supporting equitable access to vaccines for populations most at risk.
According to the statement, recruitment and vaccination of additional volunteers will continue over the coming weeks, while preparations are underway, subject to regulatory approval, for further clinical studies in Uganda.
It added that if the Phase I trial demonstrates favourable safety and immune responses, CEPI, the University of Oxford and SII will advance to larger late-stage studies to support emergency use authorisation or full regulatory approval.
ALSO READ: Ebola: BVD outbreak in DRC remains active with 2,124 cases
The partners also pledged to ensure the rapid, affordable and equitable supply of the vaccine to affected countries once it is successfully developed.
About the vaccine
NAN reports that ChAdOx1 BDBV is an experimental vaccine developed specifically to protect against the Bundibugyo strain, one of the species that causes Ebola Virus Disease.
The vaccine uses the ChAdOx1 platform, a harmless chimpanzee adenovirus vector engineered to carry genetic material from the Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
The technology trains the body’s immune system to recognise and fight the virus without causing Ebola infection.
The same ChAdOx1 platform was used to develop the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which was deployed globally during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Researchers say the existing platform enabled the rapid development of the Bundibugyo vaccine candidate. (NAN)
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