With support from the Government of Ireland, Alive & Thrive is working to tackle malnutrition and reach global nutrition targets in the Mekong Sub-Region with a priority on the furthest behind in each context.

A breastfeeding promotion intervention in private facilities in Lagos, which included training for healthcare providers, increased the percentage of exclusively breastfed infants but had no impact on early initiation of breastfeeding.  

Breastfeeding in Lao PDR is widely socially accepted and strongly supported by government policy. While most infants are breastfed, the practice is often sub-optimal: slow initiation, pre-lacteal feeding, and mixed feeding are common.

A review of editorial content, advertisements, and Facebook posts from 2015-2016 in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam revealed inappropriate promotion and insufficient national regulation of breastmilk substitutes in the region.

In preparation for a national advocacy meeting on human milk banking in Myanmar, A&T worked with UNICEF to develop a brief on human milk banking as a component of a breastfeeding-friendly health systems.

Highlights the importance of Early Essential Newborn Care (EENC) as a simple and effective intervention to prevent newborn mortality and promote well-being, and provides an overview of processes to streamline EENC in health facilities and recommendations for health facilities implementi