Cambodia Advances Planning for Sustainable MMS Scale-Up

A Proven Solution for Maternal Nutrition

Anemia is a public health challenge in Cambodia, affecting an estimated 41% of pregnant women.¹ Recognizing this, Cambodia’s Ministry of Health (MoH) is taking important steps to strengthen its national antenatal care platform by preparing for a possible transition from iron and folic acid (IFA) to UNIMMAP multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS), known in the US as prenatal vitamins and minerals.

MMS is a powerful, cost-effective tool for combating maternal malnutrition and improving pregnancy and birth outcomes in low-resource settings as part of routine antenatal care. It contains 15 essential vitamins and minerals, including iron and folic acid. While IFA remains an important nutrition intervention, MMS has proven more effective and acceptable, with higher levels of adherence.² Compared with IFA alone, it reduces the risk of maternal anemia and adverse birth outcomes, including low birth weight, preterm birth, and babies born small for gestational age.³

Partnering to Prepare for MMS Introduction

Vitamin Angels is committed to improving maternal and child health through the delivery of proven nutrition interventions and the strengthening of health systems at scale. Vitamin Angels has worked in Cambodia since 2021 to better understand the country’s multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) landscape through research, advocacy, and engagement with national stakeholders. This included funding and providing technical support for Cambodia’s first study of MMS adherence and acceptability, conducted from 2022 to 2023, which generated local evidence to inform future programming and policy discussions.

Since 2024, Vitamin Angels has advanced this work through Transforming Lives Through Nutrition, a consortium of public health partners that includes Vitamin Angels, Helen Keller International, and iDE and is funded by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health’s National Maternal and Child Health Center and consortium partners, Vitamin Angels has helped move MMS from evidence generation toward demonstration and health-system integration. This support has included training national and subnational health staff, providing MMS for pilot areas, partnering with government counterparts on monitoring and supportive supervision, and generating additional local evidence to guide planning and scale-up.

Building the Pathway to Sustainable Scale-Up

On June 9, 2026, around 50 representatives from government, academia, local implementing organizations, and development partners gathered in Phnom Penh for a dissemination and consultative workshop to advance planning for the national scale-up of MMS for pregnant women. Co-convened by Vitamin Angels and Cambodia’s National Maternal and Child Health Center of the MoH, the workshop let national and provincial stakeholders review new evidence, discuss implementation priorities, and consider what is needed to make MMS available sustainably and at scale through Cambodia’s health system.

The meeting focused on findings from Vitamin Angels’ MMS Supply Context Assessment, which included a Manufacturer and Supplier Assessment, and a Budget Impact Analysis. Together, these studies were designed to inform Cambodia’s consideration of a future transition from IFA to MMS within its national antenatal care platform. Additionally, the workshop utilized a participatory approach through stakeholder discussions, to address key questions around MMS policy, procurement and supply chain financing, and implementation. Vitamin Angels helped translate this evidence into practical planning, supporting analysis of the country’s supply and policy environment and identifying considerations related to procurement, supply chain readiness, financing, regulatory pathways, and potential local production.

What the Evidence Showed

The findings shared at the convening point to a feasible, phased approach for MMS introduction. The Budget Impact Analysis (BIA) presented by Vitamin Angels determined that a gradual transition from IFA to MMS was financially feasible and outlined the various cost components.

On the supply side, the assessment found that Cambodia is well-positioned to pursue a phased approach, using imported and donated supply in the near term, while exploring longer-term strategies for sustainable procurement and potential future local production. Although MMS is not currently manufactured in Cambodia, the country’s emerging pharmaceutical sector may offer opportunities to develop domestic production capacity over time, provided there is investment in quality systems and regulatory frameworks, as well as sufficient market demand to remain competitive.

Stakeholders also identified priority areas for strengthening the enabling environment for MMS scale-up, including policy and regulatory readiness, sustainable financing and procurement options, such as UNICEF’s Child Nutrition Fund (CNF), and opportunities to build on lessons from the ongoing MMS pilot in Takeo province.

Looking Ahead

The workshop comes as Cambodia’s MoH continues to finalize its MMS policy. Once that policy is in place, the country is expected to begin introducing MMS in selected provinces, with technical support from Vitamin Angels and the Transforming Lives consortium. Participants discussed next steps for coordinating action across policy, procurement, supply, training, monitoring, and service delivery. Findings from this workshop were discussed further by the Nutrition Technical Working Group to create a more detailed MMS roadmap for the country.

For Vitamin Angels, the workshop reflects a broader approach to improving maternal nutrition: supporting locally led systems strengthening so proven nutrition solutions can reach more pregnant women sustainably. As Cambodia considers introducing MMS into antenatal care, this collaborative effort marks an important step toward healthier outcomes for women and babies.