Promoting proper feeding for infants and young children

The challenge

WHO/NHD

Malnutrition is responsible, directly or indirectly for about one third of deaths among children under five. Well above two thirds of these deaths, often associated with inappropriate feeding practices, occur during the first year of life.

Nutrition and nurturing during the first years of life are both crucial for life-long health and well-being. In infancy, no gift is more precious than breastfeeding; yet barely one in three infants is exclusively breastfed during the first six months of life.

The response

The World Health Organization recommends that infants start breastfeeding within one hour of life, are exclusively breastfed for six months, with timely initiation of adequate, safe and properly fed complementary foods while continuing breastfeeding for up to two years of age or beyond.

Promoting sound feeding practices is one of the main programme areas that the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development focuses on. Activities include the production of sound, evidence-based technical information, development of guidelines and counselling courses, production of appropriate indicators and maintenance of a Global Data Bank on Infant and Young Child Feeding.

Work is focusing on the following areas

Meeting and event

Informal meeting of BFHI coordinators and focal points in industrialized countries
2-4 June 2008, Geneva, Switzerland

Consultation on approaches for scaling up breastfeeding interventions at community level
28-30 April, Geneva, Switzerland

WABA/Nurhayati-natasha

First Food First
Celebrate World Breastfeeding Week, 1-7 August 2007, by helping ensure that every newborn receives colostrum, the 'very first food'.

Regional WHO/UNICEF Consultation on Breastfeeding Protection, Promotion and Support
WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, Manila, Philippines 20 - 22 June 2007

More information

World Health Assembly Resolutions

WHA55.25 - Infant and young child nutrition
Agenda item 13.10, Ninth plenary meeting, 18 May 2002

WHA54.2 - Infant and young child nutrition
Agenda item 13.1 Seventh plenary meeting, 18 May 2001