For World Breastfeeding Week, UNICEF and WHO call for equal access to breastfeeding support

NEW YORK/GENEVA, 1 ^August 2024 – In the last 12 years, the number of infants under six months of age globally who are exclusively breastfed has increased by more than 10 per cent. This means 48 per cent of infants worldwide now benefit from this healthy start in life. It translates to hundreds of thousands of babies whose lives have been saved by breastfeeding. According to the latest available data, increasing breastfeeding rates could save the lives of more than 820,000 children each year.

When mothers receive the support they need to breastfeed their infants, the entire population benefits. This includes, among other things, access for all pregnant women to relevant and comprehensive information on the benefits of breastfeeding, as well as optimal and equal care and support services for successful breastfeeding, and the existence of frameworks or infrastructure that allow mothers to breastfeed in peace, wherever they are.

During the crucial early stages of growth and development, the antibodies in breast milk protect infants from disease and promote their survival. This is especially important in emergency situations, when breast milk provides a safe, nutritious and accessible food source for infants and young children. Breastfeeding protects babies from childhood illnesses and reduces the risk of certain types of cancer and non-communicable diseases in mothers.

For World Breastfeeding Week, whose theme this year is ‘Closing the gap: Breastfeeding support for all’, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) are highlighting the need to improve breastfeeding support, a vital measure for reducing health inequalities and protecting the rights of mothers and infants to survive and thrive. While a major advance in exclusive breastfeeding brings us closer to the WHO’s goal of increasing the rate of exclusive breastfeeding to at least 50 per cent by 2025, there are still significant barriers to overcome.

Indeed, an estimated 4.5 billion people (more than half of the world's population) do not have access to all essential health services. As a result, many women do not receive the support they need to breastfeed their infants optimally, including health advice provided with empathy and respect by qualified staff and support throughout their breastfeeding journey.

Madagascar is one of the countries that has improved access to breastfeeding, with the rate rising from 50 per cent in 2019 to 54 per cent in 2021 (Enquête Démographique et de Santé Madagascar, EDSMD). This commendable result has been achieved thanks to the joint efforts of the government and all partners through the annual celebration of National Breastfeeding Week and the establishment of ‘baby-friendly’ structures at community level, in public and private institutions and in workplaces. Breastfeeding corners have been set up in seven ministerial departments, as well as in nearly 40 per cent of companies in the textile sector and less than 10 per cent in other sectors such as commerce, mining, agriculture and construction and public works.

Efforts are also continuing in the area of training and capacity-building for the various stakeholders concerned – health workers, community workers and nutrition agents – regarding infant and young child feeding, including breastfeeding. There are also efforts for the proposed review of maternity and paternity leave and breastfeeding rights in the workplace, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, Employment and the Civil Service.

Despite progress at the national level, 46 per cent of children under 6 months of age are still not exclusively breastfed, with disparities observed between regions and districts. In fact, in the Greater South (Atsimo Andrefana, Androy, Anosy), only 39 per cent of children under 6 months of age are exclusively breastfed, and this rate varies from 18 per cent in the district of Amboasary Sud to 55 per cent in the district of Ambovombe, according to the SMART 2023 survey.

There are various reasons for this variation, including:

• The persistence of taboos and social norms that discourage breastfeeding, such as the inclusion of water and herbal teas before 6 months of age.
• The non-application of the National Code on the Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
• The quality of breastfeeding interventions, which still needs to be improved.

This situation justifies UNICEF's commitment to the Malagasy Government to support the Infant and Young Child Feeding programme, including breastfeeding, as one of the priority programmes in its 2024-2028 Country Programme Documents.