- Bill Gates announced that Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) have been added to pregnant women’s routine drugs to curb maternal anaemia
- He said three million bottles of the supplement is coming into the country
- Nigerians react, many suspicious about the philanthropist's intention for Africans
The co-founder of Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates announced that a new vitamin called Mulitple Micronutrient Supplement had been added to the routine drugs for pregnant women.
He said malnutrition starts at an early stage in life and in order to fight it, it is best to help mothers before and during pregnancy.
Gates said this at the Nutrivision 2024, a Pan-African Youth Dialogue on Nutrition at Nile University Abuja on Tuesday, September 3.
He said: “… If you want a child to have the best health, you have to help the mother even before pregnancy and certainly during pregnancy to have very good health. A lot of our interventions are focused on helping mothers thrive throughout pregnancy.
“We not only look at the child death rate but the maternal death rate, and that has not gone down as much. There is new tools coming on for that, and nutrition helps with that as well, but that has been a more stubborn problem to solve, and Nigeria, in particular, has had a problem bringing that down, and we’re committed to get to science and partner to bring that down a lot.
“The vitamins that you get during pregnancy as you do those prenatal visits, we’ve added new vitamins. We have a thing called the Multiple Micronutrient Supplement.
“I just heard that there is three million bottles of this, what we call MMS, coming into the country. And so, pretty soon, mothers will get these additional vitamins and we have shown that MMS could reduce two million cases of maternal anaemia and save the lives of 70,000 babies. We’re bringing the cost of that down; we are making sure mothers are hearing about it.”
Recall that the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported earlier this year that the federal government was set to roll out the MMS to enhance nutrition for pregnant women. According to the report, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare adopted the use of MMS based on the 2020 World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation.
Nigerians reacted to the news on social media, with many expressing their fear and lack of trust in the philanthropist’s kind gesture.
Nigerians react to new MMS drug
A lot of Nigerians said Bill Gates is not to be trusted and advised others not to accept anything from him. Some netizens advised pregnant women to eat healthily to fight malnutrition instead of taking pills. Others expressed worry over the effects the drug will have on the next generation.
Here are some of the comments:
@DrConztant posted: “I hope the Nigerian government investigates these free items. Hope they are not targeting our babies for something sinister. I am just saying o! There ain't no such thing as free lunch.”
@Germanprinz posted: “I no dey trust most things this man dey put hand into.”
@emmy4life02 posted: “Depopulation agenda about to be achieved. Please do not allow them to give your wife MMS.”
@kizzstone posted: “Attack on Africans' next generation. I can never trust this guy.”
@ChukkOfficial posted: “Watch the rate of autism sprout drastically. I have never trusted this man and the west. Their intentions aren’t good for Africa. Take these supplements at your own peril.”
@Muhamedwason posted: “Every wise person should realize that Bill Gates isn’t someone to blindly trust. If he recommends doing something, it’s often smarter to do the opposite. Remember, these same people predicted that Africa would become a graveyard before COVID-19, and they were wronged.”
@khalid_koiki posted: “I really hope our women are safe in the hands of this guy sha.”
@web_ike37683 posted: “They hold this man and his family down and fed them the food he's producing for a month let's check result.”
@tmscool posted: “Bill Gates, who wants to reduce population, suddenly wants to save lives.
Miracle no de finish..”
@chizye posted: “Let’s scrutinize the micronutrient very well.. nowadays I am scared of science and free things- my thoughts.”
@tukemike posted: “Trust Bill Gate at your own peril. If Nigeria is not a docile country, where are all the scientists to research what this man is saying. We are now a dumping ground for anything and everything. Pathetic !!!!”
@0xRonano posted: “The same man that talks about reducing Africa population is talking about saving our babies?”
@TOmuabor posted: “I am benefiting from many medical discoveries even before I was born. But I don't know why I'm scared of this guy initiatives and discoveries especially when it comes to human lives pertaining to Africa as a whole.”
@Abilar1 posted: “To help reduce maternal anaemia, Pregnant women should eat food not pills.
Food to focus on: Chicken not bread, Eggs not doughnuts, Green leafy veggies not soda.”
@SamfanSam posted: “If this hasn't been tested in the United States and other European countries,we must resist it. And must make sure the one's being administered to our women are same composition n quantity with that of theirs if they re using it already.”
@Gifted_Black posted: “We survived without this so called MMS when our mums carried us in their womb, the same way our Generation will carry their kids to term without this MMS, we don't need it.”
“You should exercise discretion”: Pharmacists slam FG on proposed health care regulations
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) raised concerns regarding the Government’s plan to implement new healthcare facility regulations, contending that the proposed changes are both unnecessary and potentially counterproductive.
In a statement from its chairman and secretary, Messrs Ambrose Eze and Omokhafe Ashore, on Thursday, August 29, the ACPN contended that the National Health Act of 2014, if properly enforced, could effectively tackle issues related to unregulated and substandard healthcare facilities.