The evidence is now stronger than ever: breastfeeding is critically important for women and children in both high- and low-income countries.
Increasing the rates of breastfeeding worldwide will help countries to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—including Goal 5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Breastfeeding is a woman’s right and empowers women as mothers, giving women the means to nourish their infants and protect them from illness, even during emergencies and times of crisis.
However, lack of adequate support for women to breastfeed is an issue in every country. Women who wish to breastfeed should have the right to do so—whenever and wherever they choose—with the full support of their families, communities, employers, and governments.
The Global Breastfeeding Collective (the Collective) is pleased to share a new resource: the Breastfeeding Advocacy Toolkit. Led by UNICEF and WHO, the Collective is a partnership of more than 20 international organizations – including ILCA – committed to increasing investment and driving policy change to support breastfeeding worldwide. The toolkit is intended for all stakeholders seeking information and tools to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. The toolkit aims to build awareness of the Collective’s seven policy actions and provide access to resources that stakeholders can use in the development of initiatives to support these policy actions globally, nationally, and sub-nationally. Resources in the toolkit include guidebooks, policy briefs, educational videos, and case studies. Where possible, resources have been provided in multiple languages, and the toolkit will be updated periodically to include new, relevant tools as they become available.
Please be sure to check out the Breastfeeding Advocacy Toolkit and consider sharing with your networks! The toolkit is intended to be interactive, and we welcome your input. Should you have any questions or suggestions regarding the toolkit, please contact breastfeeding@unicef.org.
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