Allocate resources to promote breastfeeding policies, programmes- UNICEF, WHO to Govt

Hope James




The United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have implored government at all strata to allocate abundant resources to protect, promote and support breastfeeding policies and programmes for vulnerable families living in emergency settings.

This is contained in a joint statement by the Organisations themed ‘Step up breastfeeding: Educate and Support’, to commemorate the 2022 World Breastfeeding week.

The Executive Director of UNICEF, Catherine Russell, and Director-General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhhanon Ghebreyesus noted that fewer than half of all newborn babies are breastfed in the first hour of life, making them vulnerable to disease and death, stressing that only 44 percent of infants are exclusively breastfed in the first six months of life.

They thereby called on governments to step up efforts to priotise investing in breastfeeding support policies and programmes in a fragile and food insecure context.

The statement read in part, “Countries have been tasked to prioritize investing in breastfeeding support policies and programmes, especially in fragile and food insecure and emergency settings.”

“Breastfeeding also acts as a baby’s first vaccine, protecting them from common childhood illnesses.”

“Fewer than half of all newborn babies are breastfed in the first hour of life, leaving them more vulnerable to disease and death and that only 44 per cent of infants are exclusively breastfed in the first six months of life – short of the World Health Assembly target of 50 per cent by 2025.”

“The United Nations’ authorities stressed that protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding is more important than ever, not just for protecting the planet as the ultimate natural, sustainable, first food system, but also for the survival, growth and development of millions of infants.”

“That is why UNICEF and WHO are calling on governments, donors, civil society and the private sector to step up efforts to prioritize investing in breastfeeding support policies and programmes, especially in fragile and food insecure contexts.”