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The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on countries worldwide to significantly invest in health systems to better support breastfeeding mothers, emphasizing the critical role breastfeeding plays in infant health and survival. Breastfeeding acts as a baby’s first vaccine, offering protection against life-threatening diseases such as diarrhoea and pneumonia.
Despite its proven benefits, only 48% of infants under six months are exclusively breastfed, falling short of the World Health Assembly’s target of 60% by 2030. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell highlighted the multifaceted challenges new mothers face, including lack of trained health workers and inadequate health system support.
WHO data reveals that only about 20% of countries incorporate infant and young child feeding training into healthcare education for doctors and nurses. Consequently, most mothers leave hospitals without sufficient guidance on breastfeeding techniques and the introduction of complementary feeding. Many health systems remain under-resourced, fragmented, and ill-equipped to provide consistent, evidence-based breastfeeding support.
“Investment in breastfeeding support remains critically low even though every dollar invested generates $35 in economic returns,” the joint statement noted.
This year’s World Breastfeeding Week, celebrated in the first week of August under the theme “Prioritize breastfeeding: create sustainable support systems,” urges governments and health administrators to allocate adequate national budgets for breastfeeding programs. It calls for integrating breastfeeding counseling into routine maternal and child healthcare services and ensuring all healthcare providers are skilled in breastfeeding support, including in emergency and humanitarian contexts.
Moreover, WHO underscores the importance of strengthening community health systems to provide accessible, ongoing breastfeeding support for mothers up to two years and beyond, framing this as both a health and moral imperative.
Breastfeeding not only safeguards infant health but also represents a high-return economic investment, benefitting families and societies at large.
Disclaimer: This article reflects information provided by WHO and UNICEF as reported by news sources. The author assumes no responsibility for any views expressed beyond the factual summary of the original statement.
