Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding, when initiated within the first hour after birth, should be provided exclusively for the first six months of life. It can continue for up to two years or beyond, alongside safe and appropriate complementary foods. This practice is one of the most effective methods for promoting child survival and well-being.

World Breastfeeding Week, celebrated from August 1 to 7, provides an opportunity to emphasise the significance of breastfeeding for children's survival, development, and overall well-being on a global scale. This year's theme, "Prioritise Breastfeeding: Create Sustainable Support Systems," focuses on establishing systems and infrastructures that support mothers in their breastfeeding efforts across various settings.

Every year, UNICEF will highlight the progress achieved through exclusive breastfeeding while also addressing the challenges that remain. These challenges include the slow decline in exclusive breastfeeding rates, the timely initiation of breastfeeding, and the lack of breastfeeding spaces for working mothers. UNICEF is calling on all relevant actors to:

• Ensure adequate funding to support breastfeeding programmes
• Protect breastfeeding from commercial influence and fully implement the Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes in health facilities
• Strengthen breastfeeding support in health facilities
• Strengthen community structures to support breastfeeding

In Ghana, very few institutions, including UNICEF Ghana, have a dedicated space for working mothers to breastfeed. Furthermore, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), with support of UNICEF, has developed an abridged version of Ghana’s Breastfeeding Promotion Regulation, first introduced in 2000, known as Legislative Instrument (L.I.) 1667.

Click below to learn more about the L.I. and report violations: