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.

MALTA Committed to Protect Breastfeeding

The situation of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Malta has been revised by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at its 62^nd session on January 17^th 2013. IBFAN has prepared an alternative report on the situation of breastfeeding in Malta. 

During the interactive dialogue with the Committee, the issue of breastfeeding was tackled.

The Committee members raised questions concerning the measures Malta is taking for increasing breastfeeding – whose rates are very low in the Country – as it is an important component for raising emotionally healthy children. The Maltese delegation stated that health campaigns to encourage breastfeeding have raised the rate of breastfeeding from 35% in 1990 to 56% in 2011*. There are ongoing efforts and initiatives to promote breastfeeding such as guidelines for breastfeeding rooms in public places, new breastfeeding policy in hospitals (created last November).

The Committee asked the delegation what measures are in place to regulate the marketing of infant formula which may explain the low rates of breastfeeding in the country. The Committee wanted to know whether there are baby friendly hospital initiatives in the country and what support is given to mothers in the hospitals, noting that births mostly occur in those premises and data in the possession of the Committee show very low initiation to breastfeeding. The Maltese delegation informed that services for breastfeeding are available within the hospitals and in community health centers. There are regulations on the marketing of baby formula and a directive is being discussed that, once adopted, will put Malta in line with the European Union.

The Committee members also noted that maternity leave from work has been recently elevated to 18 weeks and this could have an effect on breastfeeding. The delegation pointed out that it is not yet possible to assess the impact of the new law on breastfeeding as it has been operative for only 3 weeks now. In any case, working mothers have the possibility to use family friendly measures, work more from home, have more flexible work hours or have a reduction of working hours.

Overall, breastfeeding is on the increase, even though the statistics are still not satisfying. The delegation agreed that breastfeeding is the best solution for the child and they committed to increase awareness campaigns on breastfeeding.

 *The delegation of Malta probably referred to the rate of exclusive breastfeeding at 0 months, as it is the only data available along with initiation to breastfeeding.

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.