Maternal anemia, even moderate cases, increases the risk of dying during delivery. The recent Lancet series on maternal and child under-nutrition estimated that 20% of maternal deaths are due to maternal iron-deficiency anemia and stunting in women, thus adding 115,000 deaths to the total maternal deaths from obstetric complications annually. However, despite these consequences, there is little attention given at global and country levels to the problem. Maternal anemia control programs are the primary maternal nutrition program worldwide, but these programs are not well-funded and have therefore failed to significantly reduce maternal anemia in developing countries.
 
Evidence-Based Interventions for Maternal Anemia
There is consensus on a number of evidence-based interventions to reduce anemia prevalence among pregnant women and women of reproductive age when they are applied effectively to a population with known causes ofanemia:
• Universal supplementation of pregnant women with daily iron/folic acid tablets;
• Fortification of commonly consumed food products with micronutrients;
• Control of malaria in pregnancy by intermittent preventive treatment, long lasting insecticide treated bed nets, indoor residual spraying, and Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACT);
• Control of hookworms by deworming medication such as albendazole and mebendazole as a routine part of ANC where hookworm prevalence is >20%;
• Optimal birth spacing; and
• Programs that improve the iron stores of adolescents with weekly iron/folic acid supplements. 
 
Key MCHIP Maternal Anemia Activities
MCHIP works at the country level to integrate actions into its maternal health  initiatives to identify barriers, improve maternal anemia control programs, and  reduce maternal anemia. To improve programming in these areas, MCHIP uses innovative strategies to solve supply and demand barriers to successful  programs. These include pay-for-performance to increase the number of women receiving iron-folic acid supplements from health workers, and using cell phones to remind women to take their iron/folic acid supplements. The Program will not take the lead at the global level to improve the global response to maternal anemia, but will participate as needed with the A2Z Project on these issues.