Breastfeeding called "smartest investment" families, communities, countries can make: UN

While Kicking off "World Breastfeeding Week," the United Nations, UN, today stated that although breastfeeding has cognitive and health benefits for infants and mothers, a lack of investment slows its widespread acceptance in society.

"Breastfeeding gives babies the best possible start in life," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, WHO.

He added that breast milk works as a baby's first vaccine, by protecting infants from potentially deadly diseases, while providing the nourishment newborns require to survive and thrive.

The Global Breastfeeding Scorecard, a new report by the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, and the WHO, in collaboration with the Global Breastfeeding Collective, an initiative launched today to increase the global rate of breastfeeding, points out that breastfeeding not only helps to prevent diarrhoea and pneumonia, two major causes of deaths among infants, it also helps to reduce the risk to mothers of ovarian and breast cancer, two leading causes of deaths among women.

However, the scorecard, which evaluated 194 nations, revealed that no country fully meets recommended breastfeeding standards.

In fact, it found that only 40 percent of children under the age of six months are only fed on breastmilk, and only 23 countries have exclusive breastfeeding rates above 60 percent.

The scorecard was released at the start of World Breastfeeding Week, alongside a new analysis, entitled "Nurturing the Health and Wealth of Nations: The Investment Case for Breastfeeding," which demonstrated that an annual investment of only US$4.70 per new-born child is required to increase the global rate of exclusive breastfeeding among children under the age of six months to 50 percent by 2025.

The analysis suggests that meeting this target could save the lives of 520,000 children under the age of five years and potentially generate $300 billion in economic gains over 10 years, because of reduced rates of illnesses, healthcare costs and increased productivity.

"Breastfeeding is one of the most effective and cost effective investments that nations can make in the health of their youngest members and the future health of their economies and societies," said Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director. "By failing to invest in breastfeeding, we are failing mothers and their babies and paying a double price in lost lives and in lost opportunities," he added.

The investment case shows that in five of the world's largest emerging economies, including China, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Nigeria, the lack of investment in breastfeeding has resulted in an estimated 236,000 child deaths per year and $119 billion in economic losses.

Globally, investments in breastfeeding are far too low. Each year, governments in lower and middle-income countries spend approximately $250 million to promote breastfeeding, while donors provide an additional $85 million.

source:wam