World
Breastfeeding Week (WBW) Theme for 2009
Breastfeeding: A Vital Emergency Response
Are you ready?
Objectives of World Breastfeeding Week 2009
·
To draw attention to the vital role that breastfeeding
plays in emergencies worldwide.
To stress
the need for active protection and support of breastfeeding
before and during emergencies.
To inform
mothers, breastfeeding advocates, communities, health
professionals, governments, aid agencies, donors,
and the media on how they can actively support breastfeeding
before and during an emergency.
To mobilise
action and nurture networking and collaboration between
those with breastfeeding skills and those involved
in emergency response.
Rationale
Children
are the most vulnerable in emergencies – child mortality
can soar from 2 to 70 times higher than average due
to diarrhoea, respiratory illness and malnutrition.
Breastfeeding
is a life saving intervention and protection is greatest
for the youngest infants. Even in non-emergency settings,
non-breastfed babies under 2 months of age are six
times more likely to die.
Emergencies
can happen anywhere in the world. Emergencies destroy
what is ‘normal,’ leaving caregivers struggling to
cope and infants vulnerable to disease and death.
During
emergencies, mothers need active support to continue
or re-establish breastfeeding.
Emergency
preparedness is vital. Supporting breastfeeding in
non-emergency settings will strengthen mothers’ capacity
to cope in an emergency
