August 1 to 7 is celebrated annually as World Breastfeeding Week.

This year’s annual advocacy is on the global theme, "Prioritise breastfeeding: Create sustainable support systems", and it calls upon policymakers and all sectors of society to safeguard this natural practice for the best start in life and the future of children.

Celebrated yearly by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Ministries of Health and civil society partners around the globe, it recognises breastfeeding as a powerful foundation for lifelong health, development and equity.

Under the banner of WHO’s ‘Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Future’, the celebration this year shines a spotlight on the ongoing support women and babies need from the healthcare system through their breastfeeding journey.

Information

This means ensuring every mother has access to the support and information she needs to breastfeed as long as she wishes to do so - by investing in skilled breastfeeding counselling, enforcing the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, and creating environments—at home, in health care and at work—that support and empower women.

In a joint statement by WHO Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, to mark the celebration, they underscored that breastfeeding was one of the most effective ways to ensure a baby’s health, development and survival in the earliest stages of life.

Breastfeeding, they said, acts as a child’s first vaccine, providing protection against diseases including diarrhoea and pneumonia.

“Investing in breastfeeding is an investment in the future, yet only 48 per cent of infants under six months are exclusively breastfed – well.”

This, they said, was far below the World Health Assembly target of 60 per cent by 2030.

The two attribute this to the overlapping challenges for new mothers, health workers and health systems.

According to the WHO and UNICEF, millions of mothers around the world do not receive timely and skilled support in a healthcare setting when they need it most.

They said only a fifth of countries include infant and young child feeding training for the doctors and nurses who care for new mothers.

This, they said, meant that majority of the world’s mothers leave hospitals without proper guidance on how to breastfeed their babies and when to introduce complementary feeding.

Systems

“In many countries, health systems are too often under-resourced, fragmented, or poorly equipped to deliver quality, consistent, evidence-based breastfeeding support”, they added.

According to the two organisations, investment in breastfeeding support remains critically low even though every dollar invested generates US$35 in economic returns.

They have therefore called on governments, health administrators, and partners to invest in high-quality breastfeeding support, by ensuring adequate investment in equitable, quality maternal and newborn care, including breastfeeding support services.

They also called for an increase in national budget allocations for breastfeeding programmes.

They further called for the integration of breastfeeding counselling and support into routine maternal and child health services, including antenatal, delivery and postnatal care.

They also called on governments and policy makers to ensure that all health service providers are equipped with the skills and knowledge required to support breastfeeding, including in emergency and humanitarian settings.

They further called for the strengthening of community health systems to provide every new mother with ongoing, accessible breastfeeding support for up to two years and beyond.

Finally, they called for the protection of breastfeeding by ensuring that the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes is applied in all health facilities and systems.

The two concluded that strengthening health systems to support breastfeeding is not just a health imperative, but a moral and economic imperative.

The two organisations assured their commitment to support countries to build resilient health systems that leave no mother or child behind.