Since our inception over 200 years ago, USP has remained committed to helping ensure global access to quality medicines, dietary supplements and foods through our standards-setting work and related programs. Protecting public health is at the core of what we do—which is why, through USP’s Verification Services, we are proud to support global health initiatives that connect vulnerable populations with trusted, prenatal supplements.
For several years, USP has donated its Verification Services to Kirk Humanitarian, a family philanthropy dedicated to improving the health and well-being of pregnant women and their newborns. They do this by making their USP Verified prenatal supplement, known as UNIMMAP MMS, accessible to millions of pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries at no cost.
UNIMMAP MMS, which stands for the United Nations International Multiple Micronutrient Antenatal Preparation of a multiple micronutrient supplement, is a nutrition intervention for pregnant women. The product contains 15 essential vitamins and minerals, including iron and folic acid, and is included on the World Health Organization’s Model List of Essential Medicines. Research indicates that one dose per day of UNIMMAP MMS leads to healthier pregnancies for women and significantly improves birth outcomes for her baby1,2,3. In countries where 1 in 3 women suffer from anemia, UNIMMAP MMS offers significant benefits. For pregnant women with anemia, taking UNIMMAP MMS reduces the risk of newborn death by 29% and decreases the chances of babies being born underweight (19% reduction), stunted (8% reduction), or stillborn (21% reduction). And for mothers who are underweight, UNIMMAP MMS decreases the risk of premature birth by 16%4,5.
As Kirk Humanitarian aims to meet the growing demand for UNIMMAP MMS by expanding the number of manufacturers capable of producing this product worldwide, USP is supporting these efforts through the USP UNIMMAP MMS Verification Program. USP’s rigorous and comprehensive verification process helps ensure that manufacturers working with Kirk Humanitarian to produce UNIMMAP MMS meets our program’s strict requirements, so that millions of women worldwide have access to trusted quality prenatal supplements.
Interested in participating in the USP UNIMMAP MMS Verification Program? Click here.
1 Modifiers of the effect of maternal multiple micronutrient supplementation on stillbirth, birth outcomes, and infant mortality: a meta-analysis of individual patient data from 17 randomised trials in low-income and middle-income countries - Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies
2 Multiple-micronutrient supplementation for women during pregnancy - PubMed
3 Review of the evidence regarding the use of antenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation in low- and middle-income countries - PubMed
4 Effect of multiple micronutrient supplements v. iron and folic acid supplements on neonatal mortality: a reanalysis by iron dose - PubMed
5 Multiple micronutrient supplements versus iron‐folic acid supplements and maternal anemia outcomes: an iron dose analysis - Gomes - 2022 - Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences - Wiley Online Library