Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Breastfeeding a crucial priority for child survival in emergencies
01 Aug 2009 00:10:20 GMT
 Source: UNICEF

Background

•  Children

MORE >>
NEW YORK, USA, 31 July 2009 – UNICEF and the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action are commemorating World Breastfeeding Week, 1-7 August2009, by underscoring the vital importance of breastfeeding during emergencies.

VIDEO: Watch now

Globally, only 38 percent of infants under the age of six months are exclusively breastfed, though research shows that optimal breastfeeding is the single most effective preventive intervention for reducing infant mortality.

"Breast milk offers an excellent source of nutrition for infants and, especially where clean water is lacking, helps keep young children safe from dangerous water-borne illnesses like diarrhoea," said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman.

Debunking myths

There are many myths surrounding breastfeeding during a crisis: that mothers under stress or suffering from malnutrition are unable to breastfeed, for example, or that women who have stopped lactating cannot begin again.

More damaging is the common donor impulse to send infant formula or breast milk substitutes to disaster zones, undermining breastfeeding practices already in place and efforts to get new mothers to nurse.

"Often, [donated infant formula] is one of the first things that come in," said UNICEF Nutrition Specialist Christiane Rudert, "because there is a misperception that most children are already being fed formula."

After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, formula donations sent to affected areas resulted in immediate decreased rates of breastfeeding and higher rates of diarrhoea and mortality among young children. Only a large-scale breastfeeding promotion programme – supported "down to the village level," said Ms. Rudert – was able to offset the effects of formula.

"In those areas where they implemented [training and promotion], breastfeeding rates increased, and many of the new mothers actually initiated breastfeeding," she added.

Overcoming odds

In fact, some of the countries that have shown the largest increases in breastfeeding rates are those that have experienced humanitarian emergencies.

Fourteen countries have shown better than 20 per cent increases since 1995. Among them are drought-stricken Madagascar; civil-war ravaged Sri Lanka; and Pakistan, where recovery from a devastating earthquake was followed by massive displacement due to conflict.

Ms. Rudert noted significant progress on breastfeeding rates in Zambia, Mali, Ghana and Benin, in particular.

"Many countries that are facing very challenging situations and have very few resources, nevertheless, with a comprehensive approach and support from all parts of government and partners, are actually able to do this," she said.

Protection from malnutrition

Emergencies can strike anywhere, at any time. But the infants and young children most vulnerable to the malnutrition and disease that follows can also be the best protected, with the fortification of nutrients and antibodies inherent in breast milk.

But mothers must be given priority in order to provide for their children. World Breastfeeding Week 2009 is an opportunity to highlight the power of breastfeeding to policy-makers, donors and the public alike – and to ensure that it is a priority during emergency response.





AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Children

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  The American Red Cross calls for more schools to teach Geneva Conventions
Red Cross - USA

•  UN & international agencies fear Gaza educational system unprepared for new school year
World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe/ Central Asia

•  Grant to help maternal and child health
Concern Worldwide

•  Concern Worldwide US receives grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve innovation in delivery of maternal, newborn and child health
Concern Worldwide U.S.

•  World Breastfeeding Week, August 1-7: Need for nutrition doesn't stop for emergencies
CWS

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Breastfeeding a crucial priority for child survival in emergencies

•  Polio immunization drive reaches children on the move in Pakistan

•  Q&A: Soap star Laport raises awareness about UNHCR in Latin America

•  SOUTH AFRICA: Jessica Standish-White, "In their minds, those boys do not have HIV."

•  ZIMBABWE: Paying the water bill prevents cholera

MORE >>

UNICEF

Background information

Topics
Children

Related articles

Breaking stories
 Breastfeeding a crucial priority for child survival in emergencies (1 minute ago)

Polio immunization drive reaches children on the move in Pakistan (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 UNICEF protests at "sabotage" of aid work in Somalia (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 The American Red Cross calls for more schools to teach Geneva Conventions (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 Meeting Southern Sudan's former 'child soldiers' (1 minute ago)

Maps
 GLOBAL poverty distribution - infant mortality as poverty indicator (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-31T105340Z_01_AAL101_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AAL101.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-30T135144Z_01_AAL110_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AAL110.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-30T115227Z_01_AAL113_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AAL113.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-29T180346Z_01_AFR51_RTRIDSP_2_KENYA-FOREST_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR51.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-07-29T173214Z_01_AFR59_RTRIDSP_2_KENYA_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/AFR59.htm

Internally displaced children, who fled a military offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley region a few months earlier, play near a class room set-up at the UNHCR (United Nations ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Sat Aug 1 02:46:05 2009