Inappropriate timing of complementary feeding in Niue

The situation of children’s rights in Niue has been reviewed at the 62^nd session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC Committee). For the first time in the CRC history, the session has been held in videoconference, as the Niue delegation could not bear the costs of travel to Geneva, and the experiment has been successful.

IBFAN has prepared an alternative report on the situation of breastfeeding in Niue, noting in particular that complementary feeding starts too early in the island, with 99% of complementary feeding present between the 4^th and the 6^th month of age. Linked to this the issue of high obesity rates among children and adolescents in the country that was addressed by the CRC Committee.

Due to time constraints, the dialogue between the Committee and the delegation was limited to few general topics and the issue of breastfeeding has not been discussed.