This article was first published Nutrition Business Journal Market Overview Issue.
Have your needs changed since you founded Vitamin Angels?
Howard Schiffer: I don’t know if my needs have changed so much that my understanding of them has changed. Initially, we were so focused on her one problem that we didn’t see the whole problem. There are more complex problems, and we are building organizations to address them. So we’re not just distributing vitamin A; It is deworming. I am currently doing multiple prenatal vitamins. We work to advocate for breastfeeding. Working to change global policy. So the organization is very different, but the world has also changed. Climate change is affecting crops, and drought can only wipe out crops or reduce nutrient levels. Civil wars and wars have affected nutritional levels. As income inequality widens, so do health inequalities. The bottom 90% have fewer resources, which obviously leads to undernourishment for their families.
What does your organization need to adapt to?
HS: We have had to build capacity at an incredible rate, and over the last 30 years we have had to constantly change what we do and how we do it. Expertise needed to be incorporated. We needed to really incorporate collaboration. We had to do more research, publish more, speak more and build credibility. Visibility and credibility are key to our effectiveness.
Has the supplement industry been able to adapt to its evolving needs and mission?
HS: The nutrition industry has been and continues to be our foundation. Unfortunately, many of the relationships that began years ago still exist and play an important role, but given the size of the industry, support has probably not grown as fast as we would expect. I don’t think so. , especially considering what we feel is perfect proof of so many things in this industry. Our donors have been solid and stuck with us, but we haven’t had as many new donors as we would like. The industry currently has great strength and we believe there are further opportunities to attract new players.
Which countries/regions are you currently focusing on?
HS: There are priority countries where we feel the problem is significant enough and therefore the opportunity to impact people’s lives is really there. These countries include Mexico, Uganda, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. We have teams on the ground and local partners who help us reach end users. But it’s also every state in the United States. While it is the only developed country where maternal and child mortality rates have increased over the past 20 years, half of rural hospitals in the United States have closed their labor and delivery wards in the past decade.
Do you think the industry understands the domestic needs you described?
HS: To be honest, no. They want to see something in their own backyard, but I don’t think they understand the scope of the problem. When you tell people that local hospitals have closed labor and delivery wards and how maternal and child mortality rates compare to their peers, they will be shocked. So I don’t think he is conscious. If something isn’t affecting you, sometimes you don’t even realize it’s there. And the truth is, it’s the under-resourced pregnant women who live in under-resourced communities who are affected. It’s Black, Latina, Indigenous, undocumented, and incarcerated communities. These communities have no voice or connection to really let people know the seriousness of the situation. I think people finally understood that during the pandemic. Blacks had higher hospitalization and death rates than any other population. Injustices come to light in times of crisis, but otherwise I don’t think it’s that big of an issue unless someone brings it up.
Are there specific needs that will be the most difficult to meet in 2024?
HS: It is clear that the current Middle East is a major challenge. Well, when a war breaks out, it becomes difficult to transport supplies to those countries. It took me a year and a half to enter Syria. We know very well what the problem is. Whenever conflict occurs, malnutrition levels increase. we have a solution. All you need is support.
What are some ways you have learned to adapt to changing circumstances?
HS: We must always act according to the current situation. For example, during the pandemic, there were countries where everything was shut down. It was very difficult to get products to people who needed them. But at the same time, we found that state governments in some of these countries really needed help. They recognized how serious the situation was, so we expanded our network to include more national and state governments in the way we reached our populations. We always aim to innovate. We currently have a fairly large national program through Walgreens, a major retailer, to bring vitamins to pregnant people in low-resource areas. We have introduced community groups into the area that are trusted by the people in the area. We handed out pamphlets containing free coupons. We have this collaboration going on with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to do implementation research, and we’re doing it across the United States and in about 18 countries around the world. Implementation science research is used to identify what the barriers to access are and to ensure program success. Is it an issue of access, do people not have transportation or facilities nearby where they can get the multiple vitamins they need? Or is it awareness? Are they just not knowledgeable? Or is it acceptance? Are there any taboos or bad press surrounding supplements? Or is it reasonably priced? The programs we do are built on research, so it depends on what kind of data we get. It really depends on what we learn and how we need to strategize to move forward.
American politics is more polarized than when you started Vitamin Angels. Does that make it more difficult to get support?
HS: not much. When it comes to transparency, there are people on both sides of the political spectrum who support this work, but what we’re trying to do is keep this work at the forefront of what we’re trying to do. It’s about reminding people that their purpose is to give women social status. And children are given a chance to live a healthy life. The nature of politics today is polarized. I worked really hard to avoid it.
Where is Vitamin Angel 30 years later?
HS: What I see is that opportunities for collaboration will continue to grow. And I think you’ll get better at setting up programs and addressing problems in a more holistic way, and you’ll be able to create scalable and sustainable programs that are part of implementation science research. I think nutrition will become more integrated into sustainability metrics for people who manage large amounts of money. I think this is an opportunity to raise even more funding for this research. Little money actually goes into solving these problems, but the benefits are huge. Reports on multiple prenatal supplements indicate that the return on investment for implementing VMS into a national health policy is approximately 37:1. This is a big delta to really start changing things.
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