"Closing the gap: Breastfeeding support for all" is the clarion call for World Breastfeeding Week, which kicked off last week, as health stakeholders say it is the panacea to reducing the numbers of the hungry.
The week kicks off annually every August 1 through to 7, in what is meant both to encourage mothers to exclusively feed their newborns with breastmilk, but also to ensure there is no strain placed on food provision.
With more than 120 countries commemorating it, it sees government’s supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, and Ministries of Health and civil society partners also celebrating breastfeeding mothers in all their diversity and throughout their breastfeeding journeys.
They do this while showcasing the ways families, societies, communities and health workers can have the back of every breastfeeding woman.
The WHO and UNICEF have increased their campaign to ensure that new mothers be supported through the journey of exclusively breastfeeding their babies, especially during the first six months of their lives.
The international organisations said an estimated 4.5 billion people – more than half of the world’s population – did not have full coverage of essential health services, which essentially meant a lot of women did not receive the support they needed to optimally breastfeed their babies. “This includes access to trained, empathetic and respectful health advice and counselling throughout a woman’s breastfeeding journey.”
Over the last 12 years, the number of infants under six months of age globally, who are exclusively breastfed, has increased by more than 10%, WHO said. “This means 48% of infants worldwide now benefit from this healthy start in life and this translates to hundreds of thousands of babies whose lives have been saved by breastfeeding.”
They said while this was a significant leap that brought the world closer to the target of increasing exclusive breastfeeding to at least 50% by 2025, there remained persistent challenges that had to must be addressed.
World health statistics have found that when mothers received the support they needed to breastfeed their babies, everyone benefited. They also said improving breastfeeding rates could save over 820 000 children’s lives each year.
“During this critical period of early growth and development, the antibodies in breastmilk protect babies against illness and death, which is especially important during emergencies, when breastfeeding guarantees a safe, nutritious, and accessible food source for infants and young children.”
Breastfeeding has also been found to reduce the burden of childhood illness, and the risk of certain types of cancers and non-communicable diseases for mothers, hence UNICEF and WHO emphasising the need to improve support and encourage the protection of the rights of mothers and babies to survive and thrive.
They said: “Despite some progress in specific areas such as stunting and exclusive breastfeeding, an alarming number of people continue to face food insecurity and malnutrition as global hunger levels have plateaued for three consecutive years, with between 713 and 757 million people undernourished in 2023 — approximately 152 million more than in 2019 when considering the mid-range (733 million).”
The WHO said data collection was key to tackling healthcare inequalities and ensuring mothers and families were 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,” they said.
“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.”
Sunday Independent