Campaigning for a generation: world breastfeeding week 2017
PHM
#WBW2017 paved the way for working together across the 4 Thematic Areas to achieve the #GlobalGoals for sustainable development by 2030. No one breastfeeds alone, and we all have a role to play in enabling mothers to breastfeed anytime, anywhere.
Our Core Partners the International Baby Food Action Network, La Leche League International, the International Lactation Consultant Association
and the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine all played a critical role in developing, adapting and amplifying our messages around the world.
Celebrants around the world ensured that our messages and materials reached those most in need.
WBW2017 maximised on the opportunity to collaborate and involve youth in producing materials, as we worked with Girls Globe a global team of advocates driven by the connected voices of girls and women worldwide.
WBW messages were reiterated by and impacted a variety of different sectors, from UN agencies in Geneva to global media to refugee camps in South Sudan.
Warm chain of support for breastfeeding
The challenges to breastfeeding are many. To empower mothers with a satisfying and effective breastfeeding experience, we need consistent messages, a proper referral system, ongoing support and skilled assistance.
Empowering parents campaign
Visions for a sustainable world can only be fulfilled by addressing gender inequality as a root cause. We have a lot to do. Currently, there is no country in the world where men and boys share the unpaid domestic and care work equally with women and girls.
In the world of work whether formal or informal we have to move towards gender-equitable social protection. This includes changes in parental leave legislation, attitudes and parent-friendly workplaces.
The #Empowering ParentsCampaign strives to increase the supply of gender equitable social protection by working through the tried and tested tripartite structure comprising of governments, employers and trade unions.
Building capacity
Empowering the future through training and information:
The Breastfeeding: Advocacy Practice (BAP) course aims to equip participants with the skills and knowledge needed for coordinated action on breastfeeding.
In March 2017, we organized the 7th BAP course, bringing together participants from 14 countries, with teams from Burundi, Kenya, Laos, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka. WABA was proud to sponsor 4 Young Midwife Leaders (YMLs) who lent refreshing perspectives to this course.
Although some participants were self-funded, many were sponsored by institutions such as UNICEF Burundi, UNICEF Sri Lanka, UNICEF Papua New Guinea, Alive Thrive and Save the Children.
HIV and Breastfeeding
Many hold on to the false assumption that all breastfed babies of HIV-positive mothers get infected. In reality, the HIV pandemic can be addressed through careful breastfeeding promotion, support and practice.
In 2016, WHO and UNICEF revised the guidance on HIV and infant feeding. Currently, it is recommended that women diagnosed positive for HIV initiate ART as early as possible and continue lifelong drug therapy with good adherence. There should be no restriction to breastfeeding duration. Thus, women under lifelong ART are recommended, in line with recommendations for the general population, to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months, followed by continued breastfeeding with adequate complementary food for two years or beyond.
Advocating for change
With our global allies and through global platforms, we were able to make significant impact!
Engaging Midwives
Midwives are key to supporting and promoting breastfeeding both in healthcare and community. Listen to what Janet Lewis, ICM Senior Technical Advisor, has to say about why midwives matter to breastfeeding.
