62nd COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD: Governments to strengthen their efforts to protect and promote breastfeeding

The 62^nd session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC Committee) took place in Geneva from 14 January to 1 February 2013. The Committee reviewed the progress of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 4 countries: Guinea, Guyana, Malta and Niue.

IBFAN submitted alternative reports on the situation of infant and young child feeding for 3 of the countries under review (Guinea, Malta and Niue). The reports were written in collaboration with IBFAN groups and contacts in the countries.

In its concluding observations, the CRC Committee referred specifically to breastfeeding in 3 out of the 4 countries. With the exception of Guinea, all the other countries received concluding observations on infant and child nutrition, and breastfeeding in particular. This was probably due to the fact that the alternative report on Guinea was submitted very late, only few days before the start of the session. This confirms the need to prepare and submit alternative reports ahead of time in order to make sure that they will inform the Committee members.  

The Committee recommended to promote exclusive breastfeeding of children up to the age of 6 months, to strengthen awareness-raising campaigns on the importance of breastfeeding among the public in general (Guyana and Malta) and to train health professionals and mothers on healthy infant and child nutrition (Malta). The Committee has stressed the importance of breastfeeding in preventing infant obesity and the need to collect systematic data which will enable governments to develop adequate and comprehensive national policies to address infant and young child feeding issues (Malta).

Emphasis was put on the importance of the enforcement of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and especially on its regular monitoring and the sanctioning of violations (Guyana and Malta).

Taking steps in order to certify hospitals as baby-friendly according to the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative was also considered important (Guyana and Malta). Niue has been recommended to strengthen maternity protection at work by providing mothers with adequate facilities for breastfeeding at work and by paying particular attention to mothers employed in the private sector.

On health more generally, the CRC Committee focused on the need to ensure equal access to quality primary health care services (Guinea, Niue) and to health and nutrition services (Guyana). In particular, the urgency of tackling chronic malnutrition and other preventable health problems among children has been highlighted (Guinea and Guyana). 

Table1. Summary of concluding observations on Infant and Young Child Feeding

CRC Session 62 - 2013

Country		IBFAN report	Summary of specific recommendations on infant and young child feeding (IYCF)
1	Guinea (2nd)	Yes	Indirect (Para 66): increase resources allocated to the health sector; comprehensive policies and programmes for improving the health situation of children; greater and equal access to quality primary health services for mothers and children in all area of the country, with emphasis on chronic malnutrition.
2	Guyana (2nd + 3rd + 4th )	No	Direct (Para 53-54): strengthen awareness-raising on the importance of breastfeeding and promote exclusive breastfeeding of children up to the age of 6 months; ensure regular monitoring of existing international marketing regulations relating to breastmilk substitutes and take action against violators; certify hospitals as baby-friendly under the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). Indirect (Para 48): implement comprehensive programmes for addressing maternal and perinatal deaths; address preventable health problems among children, including diarrhoea and malnutrition; undertake measures to address the quality, access and utilisation of all health and nutrition services, particularly perinatal facilities, in all the regions.
3	Malta (2nd)	Yes	Direct (Para 53-54): strengthen awareness-raising efforts on the importance of breastfeeding and promote exclusive breastfeeding of children up to the age of 6 months; collect data on breastfeeding with a view to developing a national policy to promote and facilitate breastfeeding; ensure regular monitoring of existing international marketing regulations relating to breastmilk substitutes and take action against violators; act in order to certify hospitals as baby-friendly under the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI); training for mothers and health professionals on healthy infant and child nutrition; importance of breastfeeding for prevention of obesity.
4	Niue (initial)	Yes	Direct (Para 61-62): strengthen maternity protection at work by providing mothers with adequate facilities for breastfeeding at work; take necessary steps for working mothers in the private sector to enjoy the same maternity rights as those in the public sector. Indirect (Para 56): curb child mortality; continue to improve the quality of decentralized services to outer villages while also providing emergency care for children and mothers when in need.

 

Guyana: Only one in 10 babies exclusively breastfed

On Tuesday 15^th January, the situation of Guyana has been reviewed by the CRC at its 62^nd session.

 

The Guyana periodic report mentions UNICEF Basic Indicators data indicating an alarmingly low 11% rate of exclusive breastfeeding under the age of 6 months, a 42% rate of breastfeeding with complementary food at 6-9 months and a 31% rate of continued breastfeeding at 20-23 months. The report recognizes “the need to accelerate appropriate caring and feeding practices for children aged 0-3 years”.

The members of the Committee asked several questions to the country delegation, including issues of health and nutrition. They asked the delegation whether Guyana has adopted a Code of marketing of breastmilk substitutes, whether action is taken against the violators and if programs on training of health professionals are in place.

The delegation did not address the questions in detail. However, it recognized that the country did not succeed in having an impact on breastfeeding, whose rate is still low. On the other hand, the delegation noted that in the interior area of the country, a main contributor to the drop of infant mortality is the fact that Amerindian mothers breastfeed their children up to 2 years.

Moreover, questions have been raised about data collected on maternal and child mortality, and the delegation detailed that the data are collected by the ministry of health on a monthly basis. It has also been noted that there are disparities in maternal mortality within the country, with higher rates found in big cities rather than the interior. The disparity has been explained considering that hospitals in the cities are where the more problematic cases arrive.

Guyana will receive recommendations by the CRC Committee at the end of this session.