Anaheim, CA —At this year’sLeague of Angels, the theme was mothers. The Vitamin Angels fundraiser that coincides every year with Natural Products Expo West also coincided with International Women’s Day, a perfect opportunity to introduce the charity’s new initiative: scale up its prenatal multivitamin program in an effort to significantly reduce infant mortality due to nutritional deficiencies.

In his speech to the packed audience, Howard Schiffer, president and founder of Vitamin Angels made an impassioned plea to help the charity eliminate newborn mortality due to nutrient deficiencies by 2030, citing tragic statistics such as five infant deaths every five minutes due to largely preventable causes and that even in the U.S. 50% of newborns are at risk of malnutrition.

Schiffer estimates that this year, Vitamin Angels will reach 2.5 million expecting mothers, with the goal of reaching 50 million in 2030. Evidence shows that many women in developing countries are anemic and supplements like iron folate can reduce the risk of low birth weight and even still birth.

Schiffer challenged industry leaders to help raise an incremental $1 million. Seven companies — DSM, Vitaquest, Informa, Nutra Creations, Smart Family Nutrition, Terra Kai, and William Hood & Company — have already made a commitment that yielded $329,000.

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