To improve children’s health, development, and survival in the early years of life, the World Health Organization has called on nations to assist nursing mothers and invest in health systems.

For the health and wellbeing of the infants, breastfeeding is essential. It serves as their initial vaccination, guarding against illnesses including pneumonia and diarrhea.

Every year during the first week of August, we commemorate World Breastfeeding Week.

Breastfeeding is an investment in the future, yet only 48% of newborns under six months are exclusively breastfed, which is far less than the 60% objective set by the World Health Assembly by 2030. In a joint statement, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said that this is because new mothers, healthcare professionals, and health systems face overlapping problems.

Millions of mothers worldwide do not receive prompt, professional assistance in a medical setting when they most need it, according to the experts.

Only a fifth of nations provide training on baby and young child feeding to the medical professionals who tend to new moms, according to WHO data.

According to the statement, this indicates that most mothers worldwide depart from hospitals without receiving the appropriate instruction on how to breastfeed their children and when to start supplemental feeding.

Furthermore, health services in many nations are far too frequently underfunded, disjointed, or ill-equipped to provide high-quality, reliable, evidence-based breastfeeding support.

“Even though every dollar invested yields $35 in economic returns, investment in breastfeeding support remains critically low,” the statement added.

WHO and UNICEF urged governments and health administrators to invest in high-quality breastfeeding support by making sure that sufficient funds are allocated for equitable, high-quality maternal and newborn care, including breastfeeding support services, under this year’s theme, “prioritize breastfeeding: create sustainable support systems.”

Additionally, they called for expanding national funding for breastfeeding initiatives, incorporating breastfeeding counseling and support into standard maternal and child health services, and guaranteeing that all healthcare professionals possess the abilities and know-how needed to promote breastfeeding, even in emergency and humanitarian situations.

The international health organization also emphasized the necessity of bolstering community health services to help offer all new mothers continuous, easily available breastfeeding support for up to two years and beyond.

“It is not only a health imperative, but also a moral and economic imperative to strengthen health systems to support breastfeeding,” the statement stated.