ISRAEL’S BREASTFEEDING PRACTICES ARE IMPROVING

On Monday 3^rd May 2013 the situation of children’s rights in Israel, including the Occupied Palestinian Territories, have been reviewed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC Committee) at its 23^rd session.

The International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) presented an alternative report on the situation of infant and young child feeding.

The issue of breastfeeding was tackled by the CRC Committee that asked about the absence of a database for the collection of data and of a law on marketing of breastmilk substitutes and about the situation of BFHI and of maternity protection at work.

In particular, one Committee mentioned the maternity protection law providing that a female employee who is prohibited from working at certain jobs by law because of her breastfeeding is entitled to be excused from work and this absence is tantamount to leave without pay and asked clarification on its interpretation in order to avoid discrimination of women that decide to breastfeed.

The delegation could not answer all the questions due to time restraints; however they reported improvements in breastfeeding rates as they already reached the goals set by the government for the year 2020. To further support breastfeeding, each government facility must provide space for breastfeeding or for expressing breastmilk.

The delegation also explained how the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes is enforced is some situations, for example vis-à-vis advertising companies. In addition, they mentioned the 2003 Remedia case concerning a bulk of imported infant formula that lead to some children dying and some other being irreversibly harmed due to lack of a fundamental vitamin, and as a result all imported formula is now carefully examined. It was also noted that HIV positive mothers are given free breastmilk substitutes.

Finally, the Committee was concerned by reports of delays at checkpoints also involving pregnant women that are seeking medical assistance.

The delegation informed that within the West Bank all roadblocks have been removed and therefore there are no restrictions on the freedom of movement. To enter Jerusalem there still are checkpoints and roadblocks but there are not recent reports of delays in passage of pregnant women and all the military personnel is specifically trained to let though medical cases as expeditiously as possible.

Breastfeeding situation reported by Guinea not confirmed by data

The situation of the implementation of the Convention for the Rights of the Child in Guinea has been reviewed by the CRC at the 62^nd session, on January 18^th 2013.

IBFAN submitted its alternative report on the situation of breastfeeding in Guinea (also in French). The report highlights the fact that a 1997 draft legislation for the implementation of the Code on Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes is still stuck in the legislative process and has therefore not yet been adopted. It also notes that, even though mothers continue breastfeeding for an average duration of 2 years, there is a sharp drop in exclusive breastfeeding after the 3^rd month of age leading to an 18% rate of exclusive breastfeeding between the 3^rd and the 6^th month of child’s life.

The CRC Committee raised questions about the alarming maternal and children under-5 mortality rates. The high incidence of child malnutrition and of diseases linked to malnutrition and poverty – such as noma – has also been an issue of concern. The Guinea delegation explained the high mortality rates of both mothers and children by the lack and the poor quality of health services and health personnel. 

Questions about malnutrition have not been addressed in detail, but the Guinean delegation did mention the issue of breastfeeding. The delegation considered that exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life is considerably promoted in Guinea. It also noted the little presence of breastmilk substitutes on the Guinean market. The delegation reported that working mothers are aware of the importance of breastfeeding and thus they prefer staying at home in order to breastfeed. In health centers there are both prenatal and postnatal support, where mothers are advised to feed their children by exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months. Whenever mother cannot breastfeed because of infections they have and  could transmit to their children,  babies are treated at the infant nutrition centre in order to feed them. 

Data presented in the IBFAN alternative report seem to contradict with the positive picture described by the delegation. We regret that the CRC Committee did not address further questions on this issue to the delegation.

Women with their babies at a community health centre in Conakry, Guinea. Image via IRIN.