Competency verification toolkit
Ensuring competency of direct care providers to implement the “Baby-friendly hospital initiative”
- English
- Română
About
In 2018, WHO (World Health Organization) and UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) released new Implementation guidance for the revised Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in which revisions to the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding (Ten Steps) are described. The Ten Steps serve as the foundation to the BFHI. One of the most significant revisions to the Ten Steps was made to Step 2, which now says, “Ensure that staff have sufficient knowledge, competence and skills to support breastfeeding”. This reformulation of Step 2 introduced a transition in BFHI from a focus on training to a focus on competency verification.
The new BFHI Step 2 focuses on verification to ensure that direct care providers have the knowledge, competence and skills to support breastfeeding, especially during the first few days in maternity facilities. This Competency Verification Toolkit is designed to assist countries and health care systems to feasibly link competencies to clinical practice.
