By Franca Ofili
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF, have called for the improvement of breastfeeding support to reduce health inequity and protect the rights of mothers and babies to survive and thrive.
The call was made in a statement on Thursday signed by Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General and
Ms Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director.
This year’s World Breastfeeding Week is with the theme, “Closing the gap: Breastfeeding support for all”.
The organisations said that in the last 12 years, the number of infants under six months of age globally, who were exclusively breastfed had increased by more than 10 per cent.
“This means 48 per cent 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,” it said.
“While this significant leap brings us closer to the WHO target of increasing exclusive breastfeeding to at least 50 per cent by 2025, there are persistent challenges that must be addressed.
“When mothers receive the support they needed 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.”
According to WHO, 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.
“WHO and UNICEF are emphasising 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 counseling throughout a woman’s breastfeeding journey,” they said.
According to the organisations, 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,” the organisations said.
The organisations called for increasing investment in programmes and policies that protected and supported breastfeeding through dedicated national budgets
WHO and UNICEF also called for implementing and monitoring family friendly workplace policies, such as paid maternity leave, breastfeeding breaks and access to affordable and good-quality childcare.(NAN)
