World Breastfeeding Week 2020 – Healthy Newborn Network

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is a global campaign to raise awareness and galvanise action on themes related to breastfeeding. The 2020 theme is “Support breastfeeding for a healthier planet.”

WBW is celebrated every 1-7 August in commemoration of the 1990 Innocenti Declaration. WBW started in 1992, with annual themes including healthcare systems, women and work, the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, community support, ecology, economy, science, education and human rights. Since 2016, WBW is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2018, a World Health Assembly resolution endorsed WBW as an important breastfeeding promotion strategy.

#WBW2020 CAMPAIGN

#WBW2020 will focus on the impact of infant feeding on the environment/climate change and the imperative to protect, promote and support breastfeeding for the health of the planet and its people. The theme is aligned with thematic area 3 in the WBW-SDG 2030 campaign which highlights the links between breastfeeding and the environment/climate change.

The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) applies the warm chain approach of working together across sectors and levels to make common cause with groups working on environmental issues. Together, we need to emphasise the link between breastfeeding and the environment.