A nourished mother brings life to her child, her family, and her community.
Transforming maternal and newborn health through nutrition
The Maternal and Newborn Fund (MNF) is a $250 million global endowment dedicated to improving maternal and newborn health in the world’s most fragile and underserved regions. Established as a Swiss nonprofit association headquartered in Geneva, MNF provides sustainable, predictable, long-term financing for life-saving maternal nutrition programs across low- and middle-income countries.
MNF combines philanthropic capital, catalytic finance, and public co-investment to deliver interventions proven to reduce maternal anaemia, low birthweight, preterm birth, and neonatal mortality, while strengthening national health systems and local production capacity.
Flagship Program: 100 Million Refugee Mothers
MNF’s flagship initiative delivers Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) to 5 million pregnant women every year, reaching 100 million refugee and crisis-affected mothers over 20 years. The program has soft launched with the distribution of 70 million MMS tablets to 388,800 beneficiaries across 54 refugee and IDP camps in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Niger, Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Key Impact Metrics Over the Next 5 years
A Core Member of the Global MMS Coalition
Alongside Kirk Humanitarian, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), the Gates Foundation, and other partners, MNF contributes to the shared goal of reaching 260 million pregnant women across 63 crisis-affected countries by 2030.
Achieving this milestone will help save 618,000 lives, avert 411,000 stillbirths, prevent anaemia in 15 million women, and improve outcomes for 5 million newborns.
Why the Need is Urgent
- 800 women die every day from preventable pregnancy-related causes
- Maternal malnutrition drives low birthweight, stillbirths, and newborn deaths
- Crisis-affected regions face compounding challenges: displacement, food insecurity, reduced donor support
- MMS is one of the most cost-effective global health solutions
Humanitarian Agencies Previously Worked With:
- Endowed blended-finance model ensuring long-term sustainability
- Partnerships with UN agencies for national distribution
- Government integration for lasting system-wide change
- Digital monitoring and third-party verification for transparency
Priority Countries
MNF is kickstarting implementation across 8 priority countries, scaling progressively to 21 high-need geographies, and ultimately reaching 63 countries in alignment with the global MMS coalition roadmap.
NEWS AND UPDATES
Stay informed on MNF’s progress, partnerships, and global impact
MNF is kickstarting implementation across 8 priority countries, scaling progressively to 21 high-need geographies, and ultimately reaching 63 countries in alignment with the global MMS coalition roadmap.
