Global
Strategy for Infant and Young Child
Feeding :World
Health Assembly (WHA) and UNICEF adopted
the Global Strategy,which
sets five additional targets: national
policy on infant and young child feeding,
community outreach, information support,
infant feeding in difficult circumstances
and monitoring and evaluation.
Health and nutrition care form critical components that ensure survival and optimal growth and development of infants and young children. Ideally, health professionals should be able to promote optimal infant and young child feeding practices. All professionals who interact with mothers and their young children should attain the basic attitudes, knowledge and skills necessary to integrate breastfeeding counselling, lactation management, and infant and young child feeding into their care. In spite of the fact that key international documents indicate clearly how to achieve the targets by improving the health and nutrition related services, these subjects are rarely touched by the mainstream education system. In fact, they are not adequately covered in the curricula of health providers. In addition, it is also seen that many of these health and nutrition workers lack adequate skills in counselling for infant and young child feeding which is essential for the success of breastfeeding.
