Updated February 2022!

This quick guide summarizes the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (The Code) and relevant resolutions of the World Health Assembly that help protect breastfeeding around the globe.

Breastfeeding is one of the best buys in global health to improve social, health, and economic development outcomes. Globally, improving breastfeeding practices could save more than 820,000 lives annually—87 percent of them infants under six months of age.

Provides a list of small doable actions (i.e., priority behaviors or feeding practices) for mothers and concrete actions that other groups (e.g., fathers, grandmothers, health extension workers, religious leaders) can take to support a mother’s actions.

Outlines the priority program messages in Ethiopia and provides sample production plans for incorporating these in Season 2 radio dramas. This checklist was used by Alive & Thrive’s team in Ethiopia in 2015.

Provides checklists and guidelines for conducting, reporting on, and developing action plans as follow up to supportive visits by supervisors to observe nutrition services and counseling at multiple levels (zonal, health center, health post, and community).

This handout encourages families to take action and use a checklist to monitor their personal progress in adopting the 7 excellent feeding actions.