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2020 World Breastfeeding Week activities

Jul 28 2020
Tags: wbw2020, advocacy, breastfeeding, world-breastfeeding-week

 

woman breastfeeding in office
Supporting breastfeeding at work promotes the health of infants and their mothers.

 

Every year, World Breastfeeding Week features thousands of activities worldwide to promote the importance of breastfeeding. A&T supports activities in every country we work in and at the global level as well.

See the World Breastfeeding Week Pledge Map for activities near you! Use the pledge form to add your activities.

Let’s make #2020WBW trend on social media! Join us on Twitter and Facebook to learn more about these activities and to share your activities.

Below is a selection of activities for 2020 World Breastfeeding Week from across the A&T initiative. Many, many more activities are planned - go to Twitter to learn about and share others!

July 28

Southeast Asia: Designation of a Center of Excellence for Breastfeeding and launch of the Human Milk Bank (HMB) and launch of the Little Sun IYCF Counseling Clinic in Quang Ninh Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, the first hospital in Northern Vietnam to be both designated a Centre of Excellence and launch an HMB. The Vietnam Ministry of Health will be in attendance, and photos can be found here. Learn more about the Centers of Excellence initiative.

July 29

Southeast Asia: Q&A Session on breastfeeding on the SUN CSA Cambodia Facebook page in honor of #2020WBW.

July 30

Southeast Asia: Launch of the Human Milk Bank (HMB) network service in Quang Nam province in Viet Nam. The Human Milk Bank network service will extend HMB services to other provinces, enabling more donors and recipients to benefit from the HMB.

August 1

#WBW2020 logo

Ethiopia: TV and Radio spots which promote breastfeeding will be disseminated through national, regional, and local media and news outlets.

India: A&T Staff and India Country Director Sebanti Ghosh and A&T South Asia Regional Director Thomas Forissier will speak in a global webinar on breastfeeding by one of India’s leading universities, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, together with UNICEF, the Gates Foundation, the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India and Nutrition International. Register here; please note that times indicated are in India Standard Time. Click here to read the full program.

Southeast Asia: Launch of the social media fanpage for the #6la campaign. The “6 months mother’s milk is all you need” campaign" has been coordinated by Alive & Thrive, UNICEF and the Ministry of Health and Sports in Myanmar to combat the aspirational marketing of formula brands and show that exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months is best for mothers, babies, families and national well-being.

August 2

Burkina Faso: Representative from the Government Ministry of Health will be on Burkina national TV during the Sunday news, promoting the Stronger With Breastmilk Only campaign, which promotes exclusive breastfeeding in Francophone West Africa.

Ethiopia: Distribution of facemasks to protect against COVID-19 featuring breastfeeding promotion messages to beneficiaries.

India: The Breast Committee of the Federation of Obstetrics & Gynecological Societies of India is hosting a webinar to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week. Register here.

August 3

Nigeria: A&T and the Nigeria Federal Ministry of Health hosting a webinar on Breastfeeding and the Environment: Linkages and opportunities in Nigeria. Along with A&T and the Ministry of Health, speakers include Action against Hunger, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. 6PM West Africa Time (GMT+1). Register here.

Southeast Asia: Designation of three new Centers of Excellence for Breastfeeding in Quang Nam Province, Viet Nam. See the map of hospitals in Viet Nam that have signed up for the initiative.

August 4

India: The Global Virtual Symposium on MIYCN continues online, featuring a variety of speakers. Register here; keep in mind that the times indicated are in India Standard Time. Click here to read the full program.

 

billboard in Nigeria
The Start Strong/Zero Water campaign in Nigeria has raised awareness of the importance of exclusive breastfeeding. A&T and stakeholders across the country will use World Breastfeeding Week to promote the campaign's life-saving messages.

 

Nigeria: Media roundtables in Lagos to highlight breastfeeding, World Breastfeeding Week, and contextualize IYCF in the COVID-19 era. The first is geared towards state and technical stakeholders, to discuss breastfeeding issues and sustainable IYCF practices in terms of COVID-19 and climate change; the roundtable will be attended by the State Ministry of Health and the Lagos State Health Service Commission. The second roundtable is for community stakeholders and beneficiaries, such as mothers who exclusively breastfeed, service providers, traditional birth attendants, and breastfeeding guardians.

Nigeria: Media roundtable in Kano State, with state media, to highlight the importance of breastfeeding amid a time of COVID-19 and climate change. In attendance will be His Excellency the Governor of Kano State, as well as the state’s Information and Health commissioners.

Southeast Asia: Video premiere, from A&T and our partner UNICEF, to raise awareness for workplace lactation support in Southeast Asia.

August 5

Global: Global leaders will discuss why investment in skilled breastfeeding support is essential to achieving equitable health outcomes in "Achieving health equity: providing skilled breastfeeding support universally," a webinar sponsored by the Global Breastfeeding Collective, WHO and UNICEF.  The audience will include funders, implementing organizations and national government level leaders. The webinar will be conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation in French, Spanish, Arabic, and Russian. Learn more and register here.

Southeast Asia: #healthierbabies #healthierplanet TikTok dance challenge where mothers, families and young people will cover a dancing compilation, initiated by a famous dancer. This activity promotes the key messages that everyone can get involved in promoting breastfeeding and that supporting breastfeeding is protecting their own planet.

August 6

India: A webinar including private sector doctors and the Indian government continues a series that engages professional associations on maternal, infant and young child nutrition. The webinar engages CARE, Federation of Obstetrics & Gynecological Societies of India, and the Indian Academy of Pediatrics.

Nigeria: The Nigeria Breastfeeding Assembly and Alive & Thrive are hosting a webinar, "Protecting, Promoting and Supporting Breastfeeding in the context of COVID-19." The webinar at 3pm West Africa Time (GMT+1) will center on how to ensure and achieve optimum breastfeeding of Nigerian children in the face of the current global pandemic. Register here.

Southeast Asia: Advocacy meeting with the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor to advocate for policy changes requiring lactation rooms in workplaces in Hanoi city and Dong Nai province. In attendance will be the General Federation of Labor, Women Union, UN Women, GIZ, Care International, SUN CSA Viet Nam, and popular media outlets from Viet Nam.

August 7

Nigeria: Stakeholders are invited to a webinar, "The Role of Critical Stakeholders in Improving Exclusive Breastfeeding Practices in Kaduna State," at 10 a.m. West Africa Time (GMT+1). Register in advance for this webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Nigeria: Key resource persons within the Nutrition & IYCF sectors in Lagos state will appear on live TV programs over 3 days – August 3, 5, and 7 – to discuss breastfeeding and the environment and advertise the Start Strong/Zero water campaign. The three TV programs are: 1) Guides to planet-friendly breastfeeding practices in a developing country like Nigeria, 2) “Breastfeeding: Nature’s drink with superior packaging” and 3) Starting Children strong on the world’s healthiest fast food: Breastmilk

August 9

Burkina Faso: Representatives from A&T and UNICEF will talk about the Stronger With Breastmilk Only Campaign, which promotes exclusive breastfeeding in Francophone West Africa, on a TV show.

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