The Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI)

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2000

Theme
BREASTFEEDING: IT'S YOUR RIGHT!

World Breastfeeding Week, 1-7 August 2000

Each year, World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) takes up an important theme to help protect, promote and support Breastfeeding. This year, the Week focuses on Breastfeeding as a human right. Each year new research reveals even more clearly that it is not possible for infants and their mothers to achieve optimal health unless the conditions exist that allow women to practice exclusive Breastfeeding for about six months and to continue Breastfeeding while providing adequate complementary foods up to two years of life and beyond. Thus Breastfeeding is a right of mothers and is a fundamental component in assuring a child's right to food, health and care.

Women and children are subjects of human rights, not objects of charity. Breastfeeding is part of fundamental human rights: the right to food and to health. Breastmilk is the normal food for infants.

It provides a nutritionally balanced food for children, reducing the chances of diseases, including diarrhea, pneumonia, ear and urinary tract infections . The act of Breastfeeding is an essential component of good health care, contributing to healthy growth and psychosocial development. Breastfeeding also contributes to every woman's right to health by reducing her risk of getting breast and ovarian cancer, iron deficiency anemia, and hip fracture.

The goals are:

to raise awareness about the fact that Breastfeeding is a right;
to provide information about formal and legal mechanisms that exist nationally and internationally; and
to stimulate a shift in public thinking so that this right is respected, protected, facilitated and fulfilled at household, community and government levels in all states of India.
International & National Instruments

International & National Instruments

Every woman has the right to breastfeed her child. Our government has legally obliged users to fulfill the rights contained in these documents:

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its monitoring body, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, provide a valuable framework for the development of strategies to deal with issues affecting child health. While many of the Articles of the Convention have a bearing on health, Article 24 specifically defines the rights of the child to health and health care.
Innocenti Declaration on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding, 1990.
Covenant on economic, social and Cultural Rights (CESCR).
ILO Convention on Maternity Protection.
International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
The Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1992 (The IMS Act).

The rights of a child: to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health, and to have access to health services

The 191 states that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child agree in Article 24 to take appropriate measures to pursue the full implementation of these rights, including:

To diminish infant and child mortality;
To ensure the provision of necessary medical assistance and health care to all children with emphasis on the development of primary health care;
To combat disease and malnutrition;
To ensure that parents and children have access to education and are supported in the use of basic knowledge of child health and nutrition, the advantages of Breastfeeding, hygiene and environmental sanitation, and the prevention of accidents.

Start acting now!

Most women do breastfeed when there is sufficient information and support. If women do not get the support they need, there are a number of things that can be done and you could take a lead.

Provide information about right to breastfeed to NGOs, social groups and community leaders to disseminate it to people.
Ask your local government if they are fulfilling Article 24 of CRC.
Ask your local government if they have implemented the IMS Act.
Ensure that women in your area receive accurate, unbiased information on Breastfeeding benefits, establishment and maintenance of Breastfeeding.
Encourage your local employers and government to support women at work.
Encourage your local hospital authorities to follow good Breastfeeding practices.

BPNI is a national network of individuals and organisations working for protection, promotion and support of Breastfeeding in India. BPNI works as the Regional Focal Point for South Asia for the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) & International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN). BPNI, BP-33, Pitampura, Delhi 110 034, India, Tel: 91-11-7443445, Fax: 91-11-7219606, Email: ritarun@vsnl.com.

SPONSORSHIP: BPNI does not accept sponsorship of any kind from companies producing Breastmilk substitutes, related equipment and complementary foods. BPNI encourages all members to respect and follow this ethical stance.