Early Childhood Development

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World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) - Global

Regions

Global, Africa

Programme Summary

Formed in 1991, The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) is a global network of organisations and individuals who work to protect and promote the right of breastfeeding for all children and mothers. Through information sharing and advocacy, WABA fosters cooperation at community, regional, national, and international levels between supporters of breastfeeding (grassroots geoups and individuals, UN agencies, governments, and NGOs). WABA's larger purpose is to re-establish and maintain a global breastfeeding culture that is free of obstacles that currently impede breastfeeding.

Communication Strategies

WABA provides information through documents and articles (several of which are available in French, Italian, Spanish, and English) on the WABA site. Task forces function as specialised support arms of the network to gather and disseminate this information, as well as to organise advocacy efforts:

  • Children's Nutrition Rights - a joint effort between WANAHR (World Alliance for Nutrition and Human Rights) and WABA
  • Code Compliance - promotes implementation of the International Code of Marketing Breastmilk Substitutes through training, development of legislation, production of materials, and monitoring of code compliance
  • Global Participatory Action Research (GLOPAR) - produces a newsletter 3 times a year; provides materials and technical support on participatory action research; and seeks out opportunities at international or regional meetings for interested participants
  • Health Care Practices - works with NGOs to promote health care practices in hospitals and in the community that support breastfeeding
  • Mother Support Groups - promotes linking of support groups worldwide; enables these groups to train counselors; works to create the appropriate environment of awareness and support for a mother to initiate and sustain breastfeeding.
  • Research - monitors conferences, assists in research, holds regional research meetings, and disseminates and translates breastfeeding papers of the month
  • Women & Work - develops strategies to address the needs of working mothers through new legislation and efforts like the Mother-Friendly Workplace Initiative (MFWI) that help women integrate breastfeeding into their working lives. For example, an International Labour Organzation (ILO) Campaign was launched to garner respect for maternity rights in the next ILO Convention

The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), which takes place every year for one week in August, is WABA's main global campaign for social mobilisation to generate public awareness and support for breastfeeding. The 2002 theme was "Breastfeeding: Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies". WBW involves over 120 countries.

Development Issues

Children, Women, Rights, Health, Nutrition.

Key Points

WABA's work consists of the activities of the Secretariat and the task forces described above. The WABA General Assembly consists of a steering committee, regional focal points, task force coordinators and co-coordinators, and an advisory council.

Partners

UNICEF, WHO, WANAHR, ILO.

Contact

For a list of regional focal points, and for more details on WABA, visit the WABA site.

For a list of regional focal points, and for more details on WABA, visit the WABA site.


UNICEF, WHO, WANAHR, ILO.

Source

WABA site.


Placed on the Communication Initiative site September 10 2002
Last Updated September 11 2002


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