UNICEF promotes optimal infant and young child feeding practices
More than 850 health centers and 50 mobile teams to provide caregivers across Syria with the needed guidance to correctly feed their young children.
Damascus, Syria, 4 August 2019 - Optimal infant and young child feeding practices, especially breastfeeding, are linked to improving children’s survival. The initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of birth, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, and the introduction of nutritionally-adequate and safe complementary foods at six months and up to two years of age all have a decisive impact on children’s lifelong health and wellbeing.
“Breast milk is not merely a supply of nutrients, it’s also a supply of love!”
“Breastfeeding is great; it strengthens my child’s immune system and brings us closer to each other,”
To breastfeed, mothers need appropriate support, advice, encouragement, and practical assistance. This is what UNICEF is doing through its support for more than 850 health centers and 50 mobile teams to provide caregivers across Syria with the needed guidance to correctly feed their young children.
With thanks to the Office of U.S Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the Department for International Development (DFID), the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), Japan, Luxembourg, and the Syrian Humanitarian Fund (SHF), , and Syrian Humanitarian Fund (SHF), over 142,400 caregivers across Syria, including pregnant and lactating women, have been reached with consultation and awareness sessions on recommended infant and child feeding practices since the beginning of 2019.