LIUPCP celebrates World Breastfeeding Week 2020 ‘for a healthier planet’
DHAKA: Livelihoods Improvement of Urban Poor Communities Project’ (LIUPCP) has celebrated World Breastfeeding Week 2020 with series of programmes and events in different city corporations and municipalities across Bangladesh.
Observance of the World Breastfeeding Week started as a global campaign in 1991. Celebrated every year from August 1 to 7, this global event encourages breastfeeding to improve the health of babies around the world and commemorates the Innocenti Declaration signed in August 1990 by government policymakers, UN and other organizations.
It serves as an annual reminder to promote a critical practice which when seriously followed over the first one thousand days gives a child a healthy start in life.
Since 2010 the Government of Bangladesh has been observing the World Breastfeeding Week on a regular basis. This year, the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action has announced the theme for World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) 2020 to be “Support breastfeeding for a healthier planet’’.
The objectives of WBW 2020 are to raise awareness about the links between breastfeeding and the environment/climate change and in turn help to anchor breastfeeding as a climate-smart decision; engage with individuals and organizations for greater impact; and galvanize action on improving the health of people and the planet through breastfeeding.
Marking the observance of the day, Sudipto Mukerjee Resident Representative UNDP Bangladesh in a message said, “The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) along with the wider UN family in Bangladesh has been working with the national and local authorities to improve nutrition among the urban poor through promoting exclusive breastfeeding, Infant and Young Child Feeding and social protection services as an integral part of Agenda 2030.”
“UNDP will continue to provide support for strengthening breastfeeding promotion and protection activities in Bangladesh as elsewhere around the world,” he said.
LIUPCP is celebrated the Week across the project implementation areas with different activities in collaboration and linkage with National Nutrition Services (NNS), IPHN, DGHS, Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation (BBF), Local Government Division (LGD), City Corporations, Municipalities, Community Organization, and City/town level multisectoral nutrition coordination committees(CLMNCC).
Through its interventions, LIUPCP reached out directly to around 45,000 urban poor people with awareness messages on importance of breastfeeding and its theme through the following event activities at national, city/town and community levels:
Discussion Meetings:
City/town-level weeklong event inaugurations and discussion meetings were organised in 19 city corporations and paurashavas. City Mayor, Councilors, City Officials, Journalist, Religious leaders, Community leaders, members of CLMNCC, Health Service Providers, NGO representatives took part in these events.
Awareness Campaign through Cable Operators, Loudmiking & Video Show:
LIUPCP has engaged cable television operators of 19 city corporations and paurashavas throughout the week to broadcast TVC and run TV news-crawl with nutrition related nfant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) messages. Community-level loudmiking reached inside the city slums to disseminate messages of WBW 2020 targeting urban poor communities. Community level video shows on Exclusive breastfeeding, complementary feeding, and maternal nutrition were organized in 60 spots of urban poor communities.
Food Basket Distribution:
LIUPCP staffs distributed food basket among the extremely poor having 7-24 months old children. In 19 city corporations and paurashavas, 2,400 mothers with 7-24 months old children received the basket.
Nutrition Education Session:
Weeklong nutrition education sessions were conducted with special focus on exclusive breastfeeding. Around 34,350 urban poor pregnant & lactating women and their in-laws, and member of Primary Group (PG) members attended around 2,250 sessions in 19 city corporations and paurashavas.
Individual Counseling:
21,500 individual counseling conducted with 21,500 pregnant & lactating women during the weeklong campaign focusing on exclusive breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding Corner at City Corporation/Municipality:
LIUPCP has supported setting up of a breastfeeding corner at Cox’s Bazar Municipality premises.
KEY FACTS:
• Breastfeeding promotes better health for mothers and children alike.
• Increasing breastfeeding to near-universal levels could save more than 800,000 lives every year, the majority being children under 6 months.
• Breastfeeding decreases the risk of mothers developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
• It is estimated that increased breastfeeding could avert 20,000 maternal deaths each year due to breast cancer.
• World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding starting within one hour after birth until a baby is 6 months old.
• Nutritious complementary foods should then be added while continuing to breastfeed for up to 2 years or beyond.