WBTi names SL 1 in world for supporting breastfeeding women

By Nishantha Hewage   

The World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) has named Sri Lanka no. 1 nation in the world for supporting breastfeeding women, and leading to improved breastfeeding practices drastically in the country, and thus, Sri Lanka was awarded the first ever “Green” nation status, the Health Ministry said.   

The Ministry said the WBTi congratulated Sri Lanka for its great achievement. SL scored 91/100 based on parameters on policy and programmes in support of breastfeeding women. The WBTi is a worldwide initiative which comprises of 120 countries. Through a colour-coding system it ranks countries based on 10 parameters. In an ascending order of performance, the colours are recognized as Red, Yellow, Blue and Green. While the WBTi extends assistance for countries to assess and analyse gaps, it calls on countries to take action to bridge the gaps.   

It is said that  a cost of almost $1 billion is incurred each day due to inadequate breastfeeding. This cost is attributable to lost productivity and healthcare costs. Breastfeeding mainly benefits child health, women’s health as well as prevents future non-communicable diseases.This can only be achieved through galvanizing national actions to protect and support every pregnant and lactating woman. Globally, only 41 percent of infants of 0-6 months are exclusively breastfed, whereas in Sri Lanka it had already reached 82 percent. The World Health Assembly has set a target to reach 5 percent globally by 2025 and every country should contribute to it. According to WHO and UNICEF every breastfeeding woman and the baby requires an enabling environment in order to begin breastfeeding within an hour of birth. Infants should be breastfed exclusively for 6 months and continue breastfeeding along with adequate foods till 2 years or beyond.   

• Globally, only 41 percent of infants of 0-6 months are exclusively breastfed