To boost child survival, UN agencies launch global plan to promote breastfeeding

Calling on governments to promote and protect breastfeeding, two United Nations agencies today jointly launched an international plan to promote the practice and secure children's health.

The Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding presented by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) pinpoints the main problems associated with the matter and identifies approaches to their solution.

"There is no better way than breastfeeding to make sure that a child gets the best start in life," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. "The strategy is an invaluable roadmap for governments to create supportive environments where women can make informed choices about feeding their children."

Breastfeeding alone provides the ideal nourishment for infants for the first six months of life as it furnishes all the nutrients, antibodies, hormones, immune factors and antioxidants an infant needs to thrive, the agencies said. It also protects babies from diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections while stimulating their immune systems.

"Virtually all mothers can breastfeed provided they have accurate information, and support within their families and communities and from the health care system," said WHO Director-General Lee Jong-wook, urging governments to implement the strategy.

He added that children who are not breastfed face greater risk of morbidity and mortality, while those receiving only mother's milk during the first half-year of life, and continued breastfeeding coupled with appropriate foods after that, enjoy better health.

The strategy calls for a dramatic increase in the number of infants who are exclusively breastfed. Currently, WHO and UNICEF say no more than 35 per cent of infants worldwide are exclusively breastfed during even the first four months of life.

The effects reverberate into the future. "The long-term impact of poor feeding practices in infancy and early childhood include poor school performance, reduced productivity and impaired intellectual and social development," Ms. Bellamy noted.