How One Philanthropist Is Giving While Living To End Infant Mortality

Working remotely gave me some time to travel throughout the US this year. Little did I expect that my first in person meeting in more than a year would be in Utah, where I had the opportunity to meet the founder of Kirk Humanitarian, Spencer Kirk. Spencer not only introduced me to an important issue I was previously unaware of, but also inspired me with his humble generosity. He is the perfect example of someone who recognizes the responsibility that comes with privilege and good fortune, and uses it to make a real positive difference in people’s lives.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed many inequities in our global society, and not just with regards to vaccine access. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where access to food and health care has always been fraught and uneven, millions are suffering from undernutrition and related illness as the pandemic disrupted supply chains and overburdened health systems. And for many pregnant women in LMICs, who are often marginalized during emergencies, the COVID-19 pandemic truly exacerbated an ongoing crisis.

For nearly twenty years, the Kirk family has been leading the effort to improve the lives of women and infants in LMICs with donations of United Nations International Multiple Micronutrient Antenatal Preparation Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (UNIMMAP MMS), a nutritional supplement containing 15 vitamins and minerals that are crucial for pregnant women. UNIMMAP MMS is similar to the prenatal vitamins most women in high-income countries take as a matter of course during their pregnancies.

As I sat across from Spencer in his boardroom, he handed me a small bottle of UNIMMAP MMS with the Kirk Humanitarian logo on it. “It’s not for my ego,” the businessman-turned-philanthropist explained, “I want my children to know what our family’s values are.”

“My wife and I have four healthy children,” he continued. “More than anything, I attribute this – and my wife’s health through each of her pregnancies – to geography. It’s an injustice that tens of millions of women do not have access to the highest quality care during pregnancy, when a child is just starting to develop.”

So what exactly is UNIMMAP MMS? During pregnancy, women need higher levels of certain vitamins and minerals to support their health and their child’s development – and diets alone often cannot deliver enough of these nutrients. This is particularly true in LMICs and exacerbated by the current pandemic and its effects on access to simple nutrition and diet. The consequences of not meeting these nutrient demands can be severe. Half a billion women of reproductive age and four out of 10 pregnant women worldwide suffer from anemia, which is estimated to contribute to 20 percent of maternal deaths. In addition, anemia during pregnancy increases the risk of fetal death, prematurity, and low birth weight. Each year, approximately 20 million babies are born underweight, 23 million are born too small, and 15 million are born too soon.

If these children survive, they are more likely to have decreased cognition and be physically stunted. They are also less likely to escape the cycle of poverty. To address these issues, Kirk Humanitarian is supporting the production and distribution of the United Nations’ formula for multiple micronutrient supplements, UNIMMAP MMS, which has been proven highly safe and effective at significantly improving birth outcomes. 

Although UNIMMAP MMS has gained global acceptance over the last two decades as a critical component of antenatal care programs, many LMICs still provide iron-folic acid (IFA), a less complete product. IFA contains two vitamins and minerals, compared to the 15 found in UNIMMAP MMS – UNIMMAP MMS is a superior product that can be produced at cost-parity with IFA at just one penny a dose, making the transition an obvious choice.  

Compared to IFA alone (source: Kirk Humanitarian): 

• The risk of infant mortality (from 0-6 months of age) decreases by 29% when a mother with anemia takes MMS during pregnancy.
• MMS reduce the risk of a child being stillborn by 8%. Among anemic, pregnant women, the risk decreases by 26%.
• MMS reduce the risk of a child being born underweight by 12%. Among anemic, pregnant women, the risk decreases by 19%. For underweight women, the risk decreases by 12%.
• MMS reduce the risk of a child being born pre-term by 8%. Among pregnant, underweight women, the risk decreases by 16%.

For the past nearly 20 years, Spencer has made it his mission to find a way to develop and distribute UNIMMAP MMS at little to no extra cost when compared to IFA. He has spent tens of millions of dollars and distributed UNIMMAP MMS through sister charities in over 80 countries. He won’t rest until UNIMMAP MMS is the international standard in antenatal care. “How do you produce something with 15 ingredients at the same cost as something with 2 ingredients?” Well, Spencer and his family figured it out. 

“The reason we’ve been able to drive costs down is because we’re spending our own money. I watch every cent,” he explained, when I asked him how he did this.

What can we do about MMS?

The challenge now is adoption, distribution and financial support. Reaching 225 million pregnant mothers in over 80 countries is no small task. It will require greater advocacy, governmental intervention and donations if the maternal nutrition community is to reach this ambitious goal. 60M receive nothing by way of antenatal care. 140M get IFA. To reach the global MMS need would cost roughly $500 million a year. For that Kirk Humanitarian needs the help of more philanthropists. “$500 million a year would take care of the inequity that exists between rich and poor. All women would get what those in high-income countries do.” Kirk said.

The efforts of Kirk Humanitarian underscores the important role philanthropy can play on a global scale. By investing his own money into the cause and working closely with experts and leaders in the global nutrition space Spencer was able to drive down the cost of UNIMMAP MMS, and is a real-life example of how philanthropists can get involved in important causes and achieve tangible impact. I am calling on more philanthropic leaders to step up and follow Spencer’s example to Give While You Live.