World Breastfeeding Week – August 1-7 2016

The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) is pleased to announce that the slogan for World Breastfeeding Week 2016 is: “Breastfeeding: A key to Sustainable Development”.

In September 2015 the world’s leaders committed to 17 goals aimed at ending poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring prosperity.  Together, these form the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  This year’s World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) focuses on the 17 SDGs that governments around the world have agreed to achieve by 2030.  The new SDGs build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and cover a range of issues on ecology, economy and equity; and aspire to tackle the root causes of poverty and offer a vision of development that works for all people, everywhere. Sustainable development is essentially about ecology, economy and equity.

New evidence presented in January 2016 in the UK medical journal, the Lancet, confirms that optimal breastfeeding could save 823,000 child lives and add $302 billion to the global economy annually.  Breastfeeding lays the foundation for good health for all children both in the short and long term, and also benefits mothers.  However, global breastfeeding rates have remained stagnant for the past two decades. The WBW 2016 theme asserts how breastfeeding is a key element in sustainable development, and is linked to the SDGs in several ways.  This year’s campaign marks a new start and great opportunity for us to work together and show how we can achieve sustainable development through the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding.

World Breastfeeding Week – August 1-7 2016 –  Join Us!

What you can do!

1) Visit the WBW 2016 Website: http://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/ – a one stop centre for information on the theme, and materials and resources you can download!

2)  Celebrate World Breastfeeding Week by organising an event or join a WBW event – and make a PLEDGE for your event so WABA can share it on our special Pledge Map on the WBW 2016 website. See: http://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/pledgeform.shtml

3) Share information on World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) 2016 with your family, friends, colleagues, in your workplaces, with local authorities, your governments etc.

4) Once you have organised your event, send us your report (a report guide will be provided on the website), and in return we will send you a specially created WBW 2016 Certificate acknowledging your wonderful efforts!

For more information contact:WABA WBW Global Coordination.

Email: wbw@waba.org.my

NB: WABA does not accept sponsorship of any kind from companies producing breastmilk substitutes, related equipment and complementary foods.  WABA encourages all participants of World Breastfeeding Week to respect and follow this ethical position.