Celebrated every year in the first week of August, this year’s World Breastfeeding Week is marked under the theme: Closing the gap: Breastfeeding support for all.
The campaign will aim to share relatable experiences from women about breastfeeding and showcase how families, societies, communities and health workers can have the back of every breastfeeding mum.
Known as chest feeding or nursing breastfeeding is the process where breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be pumped and fed to the infant. Breastfeeding is the best source of nutrition for most infants as it reduces the risk of certain health conditions for both infants and mothers. About 1 in 4 infants is exclusively breastfed as recommended until they are 6 months old.
Meanwhile, in a statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that, “In the last 12 years, the number of infants under six months of age globally who are exclusively breastfed has increased by more than 10%. This means 48% of infants worldwide now benefit from this healthy start in life. It translates to hundreds of thousands of babies whose lives have been saved by breastfeeding.”
While this significant leap brings us closer to the World Health Organization target of increasing exclusive breastfeeding to at least 50% by 2025, there are persistent challenges that must be addressed.
When mothers receive the support, they need to breastfeed their babies, everyone benefits. Improving breastfeeding rates could save over 820 000 children’s lives each year, according to the latest available data.
During this critical period of early growth and development, the antibodies in breastmilk protect babies against illness and death. This is especially important during emergencies, when breastfeeding guarantees a safe, nutritious, and accessible food source for infants and young children.
Breastfeeding reduces the burden of childhood illness, and the risk of certain types of cancers and noncommunicable diseases for mothers.
UNICEF and WHO are emphasizing the need to improve breastfeeding support as a critical action for reducing health inequity and protecting the rights of mothers and babies to survive and thrive.
An estimated 4.5 billion people – that’s more than half of the world’s population – do not have full coverage of essential health services, so many women do not receive
the support they need to optimally breastfeed their babies. This includes access to trained, empathetic and respectful health advice and counselling throughout a woman’s breastfeeding journey.
Reliable data collection is key to tackling healthcare inequalities and ensuring mothers and families are provided with timely, effective breastfeeding support. Currently, only half of all countries collect data on breastfeeding rates. To support progress, data also needs to be available on policy actions that make breastfeeding possible such as family friendly employment policies, regulation of the marketing of breastmilk substitutes, and investment in breastfeeding. Improving monitoring systems will help boost the effectiveness of breastfeeding policies and programmes, inform better decision-making, and ensure support systems can be adequately financed.
When breastfeeding is protected and supported, women are more than twice as likely to breastfeed their infants. This is a shared responsibility.
Families, communities, healthcare workers, policymakers, and other decision-makers all play a central role by increasing investment in protection and support in breastfeeding; implementing and monitoring affordable and good-quality childcare policies; ensuring mothers who are at-risk in emergencies or under-represented communities, improving monitoring of breastfeeding programmes and policies.
