Meet folate.

It is essential for healthy early development, building the brain and spinal cord in a baby’s first month, often before a woman even knows she’s pregnant.

Some foods are rich in them, such as spinach, lentils, beans, broccoli, and oranges. Still, many women don’t get enough, which can cause devastating neural tube defects that can lead to lifelong developmental challenges or death.

When healthy diets aren’t possible, food fortification helps close nutrient gaps.

Doctors in Nigeria and Pakistan are calling for greater food fortification to help prevent neural tube defects.

• 🇳🇬 In Nigeria, more than 95 percent of women of reproductive age are folate-deficient. Researchers estimate that expanding fortification could help prevent up to 11,000 deaths and stillbirths from neural tube defects each year while also reducing millions of cases of anaemia.

• 🇵🇰 In Pakistan, healthy diets are out of reach for 80% of the population. Neurotube defect rates are estimated to be more than six times the global average.