Since 2010, every year, Bangladesh has been observing World Breastfeeding Week as national event between 1st and 7th of August. The main purpose of this week’s celebration is to call on advocates, policymakers and activists to create purposeful partnerships for protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding.
The theme of the World Breastfeeding Week’s 25th year in 2017, ‘Sustaining Breastfeeding Together’, emphasizes the importance of a unified voice and joint forces at global, regional and national levels to translate agreed policies on this non-negotiable component of sustainable development into positive actions.
In Bangladesh, in spite of remarkable progress towards child and maternal nutritional status over the years, data show that children under 5 years old continue to experience a high burden of stunting, wasting and underweight, and suboptimal breastfeeding is one of the reasons. Despite significant improvements in the rate of infants exclusively breastfed, the present prevalence is still only 55.3 percent. The Breast-Milk Substitutes (BMS) Act from 2013 that calls for complete restriction on advertisement of breast milk substitutes, baby foods, children’s food supplements and related legislation should be complemented by adequate implementation and monitoring mechanisms. Focus is also needed on promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding in environments such as workplace and hospitals through quality assurance mechanism.
By the formulation of the Second National Plan of Action for Nutrition for 2016-2025, Bangladesh sets up a landmark event for collective initiatives to address all forms of malnutrition. Through proper coordination and collaboration, this can be the most effective tool to secure political, financial and social support we need for breastfeeding.
WHO Bangladesh shall continue technical assistance aimed at developing and promoting effective measures and mechanisms to address malnutrition, implemented through multisectoral national effort. I believe that all of us have a unique and collective role to play for ensuring successful breastfeeding practices. I wish a successful World Breastfeeding Week 2017 and to collaboratively transform policies into actions for breastfeeding.