Three questions to Anita Zaidi, President, Gender Equality Division at Gates Foundation

Three questions to Anita Zaidi, President of the Gender Equality Division at the Gates Foundation

Focus 2030 : At least two-thirds - more than a billion - adolescent girls and women suffer from undernutrition (underweight and short height), micronutrient deficiencies, and anemia, with devastating consequences for their lives and well-being. What do you see as the biggest obstacles and challenges to addressing the gender nutrition gap today?

Anita Zaidi : The Gates Foundation’s mission is to make sure that good health isn’t an accident of birth. It shouldn’t depend on your gender, where you’re born, or how much money you have. Working as a pediatrician in Pakistan earlier in my career, I saw the life-or-death consequences of this inequality every day.

I spent many years working in a community outside of Karachi called Rehri Goth, where one in every 10 children died before they can reach age 5. This was directly connected to the lack of care available for women during pregnancy and delivery. In this same community, about 60 percent of pregnant women were anemic.

Anemia, a lack of iron, has huge health consequences, from diminished mental and physical capacity to postpartum hemorrhage—the leading cause of maternal death worldwide. A potentially deadly condition, anemia affects more than one-third of pregnant women and children under five globally.

For far too long, women’s health and nutrition have been sidelined: underfunded, under-researched, and overlooked. As a result, outdated research has dictated nutrition guidelines for women in low- and- middle income countries, and practitioners in these countries haven’t had access to the most effective tools to address women’s unique nutritional needs.

The tools to prevent and treat anemia exist– rates have been dramatically lowered in Western countries. It’s about access to better nutrition, adding essential nutrients like iron to commonly consumed foods, providing micronutrient supplements to pregnant women, and improving the diagnosis and treatments for anemia. We’re also exploring new approaches like IV iron for women with severe anemia, especially in the areas where rates are highest.

Despite the growing problem and having the tools at our fingertips, funding to address anemia has decreased in recent years. Today no region in the world is on track to meet the global goal of cutting anemia rates in half by 2030.

This is unacceptable. We’re committed to working with governments and other partners to reverse this trend, and to ensure that pregnancy and childbirth is a safe and celebratory time for women, no matter where they live.

Focus 2030 : In your view, what are the most effective solutions to address malnutrition of women and girls?

Anita Zaidi : First, the good news: as a global community, we’re in a better place than ever before when it comes to improving maternal and child nutrition. Malnutrition is a complex issue to tackle. It has many underlying causes, requiring reaching people through programs across multiple sectors. In the last 20 years, the community has made incredible strides. We now have more knowledge and better tools to address it.

One key thing we’ve learned is how essential women’s nutrition is—not just for a woman’s own health, but for the health of her baby as well. For example, more than half of all stunting in the first two years of a child’s life occurs during pregnancy and in the first six months of life, signaling the critical importance of maternal nutrition.

Our recent Goalkeepers report highlights some powerful solutions for addressing malnutrition—what our foundation call "best buys," or tools that can have a huge impact for a relatively low price tag. One that I’m really excited about is Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS), a complete prenatal vitamin. Taken daily during pregnancy, MMS can prevent anemia, support a healthy pregnancy, and lower the risk of preterm birth or low birth weight. What’s incredible is that MMS works even better than the traditional iron and folic acid supplements. It’s easier to take. It could save nearly half a million lives globally by 2040. And, here’s the kicker – it only costs about $2.50 per pregnancy.

Integrating MMS into quality antenatal care is truly one of the smartest investments to make for women and babies everywhere. It’s a game-changer in improving birth outcomes, ensuring that mothers and babies get the nutrition and care they need, and to help moms and babies survive and thrive.

But solutions don’t stop at the health system—the food system plays a huge role too. One of the strategies our foundation is spotlighting is the fortification of everyday foods like wheat, oil, and salt. This is a cost-effective way to avoid malnutrition and prevent health issues related to vitamin deficiencies —such as blindness in children, which is often caused by lack of Vitamin A.

For just pennies, food processors can add essential vitamins to common foods, ensuring that even the most vulnerable populations get the nutrients they need. For example, in Ethiopia, adding extra nutrients to salt could eliminate nearly 75% of all deaths and stillbirths caused by neural tube defects.

Looking ahead, I’m also excited about the next wave of tools, like those focused on restoring and maintaining a healthy gut microbiome. Within the next decade, with continued cross-sector collaboration, these tools will be accessible to women and children in more countries and drive further progress in reducing preventable deaths.

Focus 2030 : Many developed countries, including France, Germany or the US, are reducing or cutting development aid despite growing needs and escalating humanitarian and environmental crises. In this context, philanthropic organizations now play a stronger role in addressing global challenges. What are your expectations for the upcoming N4G Summit in Paris on March 27-28, 2025, and how do you envision your foundation contributing to its success?

Anita Zaidi : I can’t ignore the tough funding climate right now. It’s deeply concerning to see what’s happening in countries where health and nutrition services—both emergency and routine—have come to a halt due to deprioritization and lack of resources.

Nutrition for Growth couldn’t be happening at a more urgent time. I’ll be joining France, a key global health donor and partner, but also other philanthropies, UN agencies, NGOs and other development partners to take stock of what needs to happen to make better nutrition a reality for women and children everywhere. I will make a clear case to fellow donors that now, more than ever, we need to keep funding life-saving nutrition and child health programs—these are some of the best investments we can make toward global security and prosperity. The stakes are higher than ever, and millions of lives are on the line.

The Gates Foundation remains committed to continuing to fund vital nutrition and life-saving interventions for children. Sadly, while philanthropy plays an important role, no single foundation—or even a group of foundations—can match the scale, workforce, expertise, or leadership that major bilateral donors bring to the table. These partners are absolutely critical.

This year, as we celebrate the 25 years of progress at the Gates Foundation, we do so with a strong commitment to the work ahead. The strides we’ve made together with our partners serve as a foundation for even greater impact in the future. Let’s continue building on this momentum—championing health, equity, and opportunity for all.

NB : The opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily reflect the positions of Focus 2030.