From Pakistan to Cleveland: 2.1 Million Mothers Reached: Inside JFF’s Global Push to Improve Maternal and Child Health

JFF demonstrates how evidence-based nutrition interventions improve outcomes for mothers & babies — both in Cleveland and around the world.

CLEVELAND, OH, UNITED STATES, March 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- From 2021 through 2025, JFF, Kirk Humanitarian, and its partners have supported the donation of more than 2.1 million bottles of Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) to pregnant women at a 98% success rate across 35 high-burden districts nationwide — an investment valued at more than $5.5 million USD.

Internationally, JFF has played a leading role in tackling maternal undernutrition in Pakistan, a key driver of high maternal mortality, low birth weight, and childhood stunting. JFF, in close partnership with the Government of Pakistan, provincial health departments, and global organizations including UNICEF, Nutrition International, and the Gates Foundation, has helped support Pakistan’s large-scale transition from Iron-Folic Acid (IFA) to MMS. This has included advocating for the changing of regulatory laws making it easier to import humanitarian assistance, supporting the training of more than 5,000 Lady Health Workers who comprise the critical health infrastructure in Pakistan upon which community-based healthcare relies, and conducting proper monitoring and evaluation to ensure accountability and enable evidence-based decision-making. “As both a master trainer and a pregnant woman using MMS since my second trimester, I’ve seen its benefits firsthand. Now at 30 weeks, my regular checkups show my hemoglobin holding steady around 12. I’m very satisfied with the results and strongly recommend MMS for pregnant women,” said an LHW and MMS user in the Gilgit-Baltistan region.

You can read more on JFF’s MMS journey in Pakistan in their latest publication “Introduction of Multiple Micronutrient Supplements in Pakistan through the National Health System: A Pilot Study.”

That same philosophy is guiding JFF’s work in Northeast Ohio. One need not travel to Pakistan to understand the generational implications of food insecurity and malnutrition. Nearly 60% of the population in Cuyahoga County is considered to live in a food desert. Premature birth — often linked to food insecurity — is the leading cause of infant mortality.

Standing alongside providers addressing this key component of maternal healthcare, JFF is proud to announce a grant to University Hospitals Rainbow Ahuja Center for Women & Children (UH RACWC), expanding their nutrition programming for vulnerable women and children of Cleveland.
The three-pronged investment at UH RACWC includes expanding the Healthy Harvest program by adding an additional day of fresh fruit and vegetable distribution to double the program's impact, bolstering emergency food bags and education through dietician-approved food assistance that helps families during distress while providing long-term food security resources and education, and offering nutrition demonstrations for CenteringPregnancy participants by integrating food tastings and cooking demos in a group care setting for pregnant people at the RACWC.

JFF has also historically supported the Greater Cleveland Food Bank (GCFB) in funding Nourishing Beginnings & Nourishing Tomorrow, a groundbreaking research initiative addressing persistent racial and income disparities in infant mortality in Cuyahoga County. The positive initial findings from Nourishing Beginnings helped secure funding from the National Institutes for Health (NIH) to expand the scope. In collaboration with Case Western Reserve University, MetroHealth and University Hospitals, their research seeks to determine if medically tailored groceries (MTG), a Food is Medicine intervention will improve health outcomes for babies and mothers.

“The health of a nation begins with the health of its mothers,” said Ansir Junaid, Chairman of the Junaid Family Foundation. “Every mother deserves the opportunity to thrive, and every child deserves a healthy start. Whether in Pakistan or Cleveland, maternal nutrition must be treated as a right, not a privilege.”

JFF is expanding its investment in women's well-being throughout Cleveland through a Request for Proposals (RFP) for organizations delivering programs that advance women's health. Application details are available on their website.

From large-scale national policy efforts in Pakistan to community-based research in Cleveland, JFF’s work reflects a singular mission: improving maternal nutrition as a foundation for healthier families, stronger communities, and more equitable futures.

As momentum builds globally and locally, JFF remains committed to advancing solutions that ensure no mother’s health — and no child’s future — is compromised by lack of access to essential nutrition.

About the Junaid Family Foundation
The Junaid Family Foundation is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit and an International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO) with the Government of Pakistan. JFF is dedicated to improving the lives of vulnerable individuals and communities, with a focus on women, adolescents, and children. JFF invests in healthcare and development, education and society, equity and diversity, and civic engagement to help people move from poverty to prosperity.

Julie N. Calkins
Junaid Family Foundation
jnovario@junaidfamilyfoundation.org
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