1. Campaigns demanding
the right to food for
infants and children, and
women -- Breastfeeding
Dr. JP Dadhich MD,FNNF,PGD-DN
National Coordinator,
Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI)
BPNI is the Regional Focal point for WABA

2. Right to Food
Breastfeeding
Right to survival
Right to health, development

3. Right to Food for Infants
 Begin breastfeeding within an hour
 Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months
 Complementary feeding after six months
 Continued breastfeeding for 2 years or beyond

4. “Food activists often forget baby foods;
policy makers concerned with food
security ignore breastfeeding because
breastmilk is neither produced
agriculturally nor industrially. However,
infant and young child feeding is a
critically important subject for groups
concerns with the right to food….”
(Penny van Esterik)

5. Breastfeeding is important for
 Child Health
 Child Survival
 Child Development
 Child Nutrition
 Healthy adolescence and adulthood
 Maternal Health
 Environment
 Economy
 …………………..

6. National Policy
Successful
Maternity Benefits Support to women
Breastfeeding
Needs a campaign -- an organized effort
toward a specific goal
Protection of
breastfeeding

7. WABA’s intervention in the context
of Right to Food
 Availability – WBW, OMC, WBTi
 Accessibility -- Maternity Entitlements,
mother-to-mother support, BHFI,
Improving women’s nutrition during
pregnancy and lactation (linking with
women groups)
 Safety -- contaminants, environment
pollution

8. World Breastfeeding Week
 WBW 18 years already
 Over 150 countries - from 1-7 August
 Endorsement from UN agencies and
numerous governments

9. World Breastfeeding Week
 Strengthened networking among the
stakeholders
 Enhanced community participation
 Ensured advocacy on specific aspects of
breastfeeding
 Generated action

10. World Breastfeeding Week

11. Maternity Protection Campaign
A coalition of groups that aims to
protect the rights of women who
choose to breastfeed and work
through international instruments
and national legislation

12. Women, Work, and Breastfeeding:
Maternity Protection Campaign
 The Maternity Protection Coalition (MPC)
 the International Baby Food Action Network
(IBFAN)
 the International Lactation Consultant
Association (ILCA)
 the LINKAGES project
 the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
(WABA)
 technical assistance from the
 International Maternal & Child Health,
Uppsala University, Sweden (IMCH) and
 United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
 Maternity Protection campaign kit
• Ratify MPC 183 (http://www.waba.org.my/whatwedo/womenandwork/mp
ckit.htm)
• Six months of paid leave

13. Mother, Father, Community-based supp
network
To create appropriate environment
and empower mother to initiate and
sustain breastfeeding
1. Global Initiative for Mother
Support (GIMS)
2. Global Initiative for Father
Support(GIFS) & Men’s
Initiative

14. Global Initiative for
Mother Support (GIMS)
Vision
Every woman irrespective of her
circumstance or residence will have lay,
professional and social support for
breastfeeding and will receive necessary
information, education and encouragement
enabling her to have the breastfeeding
experience she and her child want.
http://www.waba.org.my/whatwedo/gims/gims+5.htm

15. Global Breastfeeding Initiative for Child Survival (gBICS)

16. OMC
 Launched Feb
2009
 58,000
signatures
 166 countries
 7 languages
 Families,
professionals,
youth
 Petition
submitted at
WHA

18. World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative
(WBTι)
 Participatory, action oriented
simple research
 Tracking, Assessing and
Monitoring (TAM) the
implementation of Global
Strategy for IYCF
 WABA’s GLOPAR 1993 and
WHO’s tool “IYCF : A tool for
assessing national practices,
policies , and programs” (2003/4)
Integral part of the project the "Global Breastfeeding Initiative for Child Survival"
(GBiCS) – Norad, IBFAN, WABA,BPNI

19. World Breastfeeding Trends
Initiative (WBTi)
Action going on in 51 countries across the globe

20. Africa – 14 countries join WBTi

21. SEA and EA – 11 countries
join WBTi

22. SA – 8 countries join WBTi

23. WBTi
 Effective means to generate new action
and capacity building
 Doable, feasible
 Lead to development of local partnerships
with governments and others

24. List of the partners for the assessment
process -- Bangladesh
 National Institute of Preventive Social Medicine
 Bangladesh National Nutrition
 Obstetrics and Gynecological Society of
Programme
Bangladesh
 Bangladesh Demographic & Health
 United Nations Children Fund
Survey
 World Health Organization
 Director General of Health Services
 Food & Agriculture Organization
 Director General of Family Planning
 World Vision-Bangladesh
 Helen Keller International
 Save the Children USA
 Institute of Public Health and Nutrition
 Save the Children UK
 Institute of Nutrition & Food Science
 Plan Bangladesh
 Institute of Child and Mother Health
 Care Bangladesh
 Mother and Child Health Training
Institute  Maternal and Child Welfare Centre
 Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

25. List of the partners for the
assessment process - China
 Ministry of Health
 WHO China Office
 UNICEF China Office
 China Advertising Association
 Legal Services Center
 China Consumer Associate
 China Preventive Medicine Association
 Society of Child Health
 Capital Institute of Pediatrics

26. Ge nde r
P ro g ra m m e
•Aims to increase gender sensitisation
among breastfeeding advocates and to
link with the women’s movement.
•Also aims to situate breastfeeding
within the women’s agenda and women’s
reproductive health and rights
framework

27. Gender Programme
Activities
 Information Exchange and Outreach
 Publications
 Gender Training
 Research and Monitoring
 Advocacy / Networking
 Workshops / Meetings
 Networking with Men’s Group

28. Campaign for mainstreaming Gender in
Breastfeeding programmes

29. Conclusions
 Campaigns for breastfeeding needs to
be
 Comprehensive
 Sustained
 Imaginative
 Inclusive
 Commitment, perseverance and
patience are the key

30. Thanks !!!

31. World Alliance for
Breastfeeding Action
 WABA is a global network with participants from over 110 countries and
about 800 organisational and individual endorsers, concerned with the
protection, promotion & support of breastfeeding worldwide
 The WABA General Assembly consist of:
 Steering Committee
 Core Partners
 Regional Focal Points
 Task Force Coordinators and Co-Coordinators
 International Advisory Council