BREASTFEEDING IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS

By James Achanyi-Fontem
Coordinator, WABA Men's Initiative
E-mail:camlink99@gmail.com
More than 20 health and nutrition associations and non governmental organisations went into partnership with the Cameroon ministry of public health to transfer various messages in the communities within the theme of the World Breastfeeding Week 2009.
Cameroon Link, AFFE Nyong et So’o, Ahead, Alternative Sante, ASSF Douala, CAFOW Yaounde, CAMNAFAW, FEMEC, CIFAS, COGESID Mabanda, COGESID Bonamikano, Optimeo, Madi Madi Group, FESADE, Nka’ah Women of Bamenda, Nolfowop, Step Ministry, UFAPROD Mfou, Maleo Sante Plus, Fine Forest Foundation and CASAMAC were deployed by the ministry of public health in the different health districts of Cameroon during the week.
Four of the above organisations benefit from seedgrants from the ministry of public health two years ago and in 2008, 30 members of the Federation of Cameroon Breastfeeding Promotion Associations, FECABPA, benefitted from capacity building infant and young child feeding counselling training in Obala. The turn out and deeds were justification for the declaration of Dr. Aissata Ba Sidibe, Deputy Representative of UNICEF Cameroon, who congratulated the Cameroon government for the efforts made so far.
Activities in Cameroon were centred on population and media information days in the regions, educative talks, project of films on breastfeeding promotion strategies, workshop on breastfeeding in emergencies, conferences, round tables and code monitoring of the marketing of breastmilk substitute violations in health facilities and super markets.
During a meeting on July 14, members of the Federation of Cameroon Breastfeeding Promotion Associations, FECABPA, had proposed that manufacturers of primary and secondary school exercise books should place breastfeeding promotion slogans on their products as a means sending out the messages to all homes.
In 2008, it was the mobile telephone service provider, MTN, which sent out the WBW theme to over 2.000.000 telephone subscribers. To ameliorate capacities of the new comers to the Federation of nutrition association, FECABPA, assisted most of its affiliates on the field as a means of consolidating their implantation in the health areas and health districts of Cameroon.
Le Cercle des Amis pour le Soutien en Allaitement Maternel et Alimentation au Cameroun, CASAMAC, was registered as the newest affiliate from Ebolowa, south region of Cameroon and Mutuelle de Sante du District d’Obala in the Centre region. Maleo Sante Plus and Optimeo Youth Movement from Douala participated in the official launching of the world breastfeeding week in Cameroon for the first time.
At the centre of the action of CASAMAC like other organisations, is the fight for the reduction of infant mortality. This explains why apart from promoting the affective link between the mother and baby, these association are involved in counselling of parents, organisation of voluntary HIV testing, promotion of breastmilk banks and the prescription of the use of tea cups and not bottles amongst others.
It would be recalled that the Cameroon government encourages all initiatives that favour the promotion of the health of mothers and children. According to the statement issued by UNICEF this year, around 9 million children under five die every year, largely from preventable causes. And Lancet says, optimal breastfeeding in the first two years of life, especially exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, can have the single largest impact on child survival of all preventive interventions, with the potential to prevent 12 to 15% of all under age 5 deaths in the developing world.
This year’s World Breastfeeding Week provided an opportunity to sensitize policy-makers, donors, implementing partners and the general public to the benefits of breastfeeding, to its particular importance in emergency situations and to the need to protect and support mothers to breastfeeding during emergencies.
Two friends of Cameroon Link, Tobias Zick from Germany and Per-Anders Pettersson from Sweden support the action plan of the World Breastfeeding Week in Cameroon which included using the opportunity to call upon companies and their leaders to end all kinds of promotion of baby foods by 2015.
In the press release by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, WABA, it had been echoed that emergencies can happen anywhere in the world, and that infants and young children are especially vulnerable to malnutrition, illness and death in these situations. No matter the type of emergency situation, the story is the same: Breastfeeding is a lifeline and a shield that protects infants in emergencies.
For more information on the World Breastfeeding Week, click on the following link or copy and paste on your browser - http://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/worldwide.htm