Infant Feeding in Emergencies Celebrating the Innocenti 15 Florence, Italy 2005

1
Infant Feeding in Emergencies Celebrating the
Innocenti 15Florence, Italy 2005

• Lída Lhotská
• Geneva Infant Feeding Association

2
Global Strategy and IFE

• 23 points out the vulnerability of infants and
  children in natural and human-induced emergencies
• Emphasizes the need for appropriate infant and
  young child feeding
• Highlights the dangers of uncontrolled
  distribution of breastmilk substitutes and the
  need for protection, promotion and support of
  breastfeeding

3
Why is IBFAN involved in IFE?

• IBFAN put the protection of breastfeeding in
  emergencies on policy agenda
• prevent that any type of emergency manmade or
  natural - is misused for commercial purposes by
  the infant food industry
• Code, incl. WHA 47.5 (1994) on donations, is
  respected

Indonesia, January 2005
4
IFE Core Group - since 1999

• IBFAN part of the Core group since its creation

SCN Working Group for Nutrition in Emergencies
IFE Core Group ENN, IBFAN, Terre des Hommes,
CARE USA, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, WHO
IFE Thematic Group
5
Point of departure

• Much depends on
• Perceptions and understanding of breastfeeding in
  the emergency setting
• Existing policies and their implementation by key
  actors
• Levels of knowledge and practical skills among
  those actors

6
Breastfeeding the natural way?OR...
DRC 2003, Kent Oage UNICEF

• Discussion with flood victimes (Venezuela, 2005)

7
breastfeeding - the last resort?

• Still weak from the birth, she was forced to
  breastfeed her 21-month-old child. "I had to, I
  couldn't give him anything else.
• Mark Coultan, The Age, New Orleans,
  September 6, 2005

8
Approach adopted by the Core Group

• policy development and implementation
• capacity building in programme management
• capacity building in practical knowledge and
  skills which translate into implementation of
  interventions that support optimal infant feeding
  practices
• Balkan crises brought to light how poorly and
  piecemeal all the levels were addressed
  first policy statements developed in 90s

9
Policy basis Operational Guidance

• Set of basic dos and donts for emergency
  relief staff and policy makers to ensure that
  breastfeeding is protected, promoted and
  supported in emergencies.
• Key audience all agencies working in emergency
  programs (30 endorsements)
• Used as basis for institutional policy updates
  (UNHCR, IFRC)
• Update will be available in early 2006

10
Building Capacity

• Two training Modules to date living documents
• Key principles
• - Do no harm
• - Do not interfere with good practices -build on
  them
• - Provide active support for breastfeeding

Assess Look
Analyse Think
Act Do
11
Module 1

• 1- 2 hour course for all emergency relief staff
• -policy makers
• -managers
• -logisticians
• -coordinators and
• -other non technical relief workers
• Update already once after initial experience

12
Module 2 Version 1.0 3-5 hour course
13
Recent experiences

• Tsunami (2004) Modules just published, copies
  sent to the field, evaluation of the impact yet
  unclear
• Pakistan (2005) 60 Module 1 and 300 Module 2
  sent to UNICEF, ongoing interaction with the
  field, training starting on 22 November,
  organized by skilled and experienced staff
• Distribution over past 6 months
• Module 1 146 copies (overall total over 1000)
• Module 2 713 copies
• CD-Rom 59 copies

14
Key challenges

• Putting IFE on the global agenda at a policy,
  strategic and donor levels, and promotion of
  appropriate use in the field
• orientation workshop in 2006
• Interactive and timely engagement with the field
  with follow up and feedback to identify
  field-relevant issues, learn from experiences and
  inform further development of the modules
• Translation into other languages
• Module 3 Complementary Feeding