World Breastfeeding Week 2022 (WBW 2022) was celebrated from August 1 to 7, this year with the theme “Step up for Breastfeeding – Educate and Support”. Since 2016, WBW has been aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2018, a World Health Assembly resolution endorsed WBW as an important strategy to promote breastfeeding.
The COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical conflicts have widened and deepened inequalities, driving more people into food insecurity. Breast milk is perfect and suitable for a child’s nutrition and immune needs and helps to prevent infections. Breastfeeding promotes the bond between mother and child, regardless of the scenario, and provides food security to infants from the beginning of life, contributing to the food security of the whole family.
Support for breastfeeding involves many actors and levels. Women need support from health services, their workplace, and the community to breastfeed optimally, progressing from one level to the next. For WBW 2022, PAHO will focus on increasing this capacity. Education alongside the transformation of existing systems into evidence-based national policies will help ensure breastfeeding-friendly health facilities, supportive communities and workplaces, and will restore and improve rates of breastfeeding, nutrition, and health, both in the short and in the long term.
On the occasion of Breastfeeding Week (WBW 2022), endorsed by the World Health Assembly as a strategy to promote this action, BIREME developed a Breastfeeding Window of Knowledge to facilitate access to guidelines and scientific evidence for meeting global nutrition goals. Considering the pandemic scenario, the Window of Knowledge provides the necessary documentation to inform decisions about breastfeeding and COVID-19.
Related Information
Pan American Health Organization. World Breastfeeding Week 2022: Step up for Breastfeeding. Available at: https://www.paho.org/en/campaigns/world-breastfeeding-week-2022-step-breastfeeding
World Breastfeeding Week 2022. Step up for Breastfeeding: Educate and Support. Available from: https://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/
Pan American Health Organization. World Breastfeeding Week 2021: Protecting Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility. Available at: https://www.paho.org/en/campaigns/world-breastfeeding-week-campaign-2021