News

NEW YORK/ GENEVA/ HONG KONG, 30 July 2011 – During World Breastfeeding Week, UNICEF joins global partners in calling for the benefits of eastfeeding to be oadcast beyond clinics and delivery rooms to the public at large, ensuring that young people both in the developing world and in wealthier countries understand the importance of eastfeeding long before they become parents.

Breastfeeding is directly linked to reducing the death toll of children under five, yet only 36% of infants under six months old in developing countries are exclusively eastfed. “With so much at stake, we need to do more to reach women with a simple, powerful message: Breastfeeding can save your baby’s life,” said Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director. “No other preventive intervention is more cost effective in reducing the number of children who die before reaching their fifth birthdays.”

The powerful benefits of eastfeeding for child survival, growth and development are well known. Scientific evidence has shown that eastfeeding could lead to a 13% reduction in deaths of children under five if infants were exclusively eastfed for six months and continued to be eastfed up to one year.

Breastfeeding also plays an important role in preventing stunting (low height for age), a condition that can cause irreversible physical and cognitive damage, and which is viewed as a key indicator reflecting inequities in society. Given its critical importance, UNICEF firmly supports all efforts to accelerate comprehensive efforts to improve eastfeeding rates globally, in every country and with a particular focus on reaching the most disadvantaged and hard to reach populations.

“Breastfed is best fed, whether the baby is born in Uganda or England, China or Canada,” said Lake.

Women generally have received information about the importance of exclusive eastfeeding when they go for antenatal care visits, or after they deliver their babies. That is why community health networks should have staff that not only possess updated knowledge and skills to support mothers to start eastfeeding, but also offer guidance and clarification on how to sustain exclusive eastfeeding for the first six months and to continue to eastfeed until two years or beyond.

Yet, while eastfeeding rates in the developing world are on the rise in two-third of countries with trend data, millions of infants are not benefiting from this life-saving practice.

It is clear that a oader audience of advocates needs to be cultivated using new and creative ways to communicate with mothers and families. Raising awareness beyond the confines of the maternity ward is critical to reach these oader audiences, including children and young people.

UNICEF emaces the idea of using all possible means of communication and encourages others to do the same, using the opportunity of World Breastfeeding Week to trigger action the whole year round. This year’s celeation emphasises the role that every member of society can play to raise awareness about eastfeeding – a natural and nurturing start to life for infants and mothers. It also emphasises that communication on eastfeeding should take advantage of non-traditional and newer communication tools such as social networking, blogs, mobile phone technology, the arts and flash mobs.