World Breastfeeding Day today

Bangladesh joined more than 170 countries on Friday (July 31) in observing World Breastfeeding Day, marking the start of World Breastfeeding Week, a global campaign aimed at promoting breastfeeding, improving infant nutrition and raising public awareness of its lifelong health benefits.

The annual observance, running from August 1 to August 7, is being celebrated in Bangladesh through seminars, awareness campaigns and public health initiatives organised by the Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation and other health institutions.

This year's theme, "Prioritise Breastfeeding: Create Sustainable Support Systems," underscores the need for sustained efforts to ensure every child receives the benefits of breastfeeding from the earliest stages of life.

Bangladesh has officially observed World Breastfeeding Week since 2010, while the global campaign has been led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF since 1992, following the adoption of the Innocenti Declaration in Florence, Italy, in 1990. The initiative seeks to protect, promote and support breastfeeding worldwide.

Health experts continue to stress that exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life provides all the nutrients an infant needs while significantly strengthening the immune system.

Medical research has shown that breastfeeding lowers the risk of diarrhoea, pneumonia, ear and respiratory infections, allergies and eczema during childhood, while also reducing the likelihood of obesity and Type 2 diabetes later in life. It also contributes to healthier physical growth, cognitive development and improved learning outcomes.

According to research cited by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, breastfeeding can reduce infant mortality by as much as 20 percent.

The benefits extend beyond infants. Health specialists say regular breastfeeding lowers mothers' risk of breast and ovarian cancers, while also helping reduce the likelihood of uterine cancer, Type 2 diabetes and postpartum weight retention.

It also strengthens the emotional bond between mother and child.

Experts further note that breast milk is a naturally sterile, safe and nutritionally complete food, always available at the ideal temperature and regarded as the safest and most cost-effective source of infant nutrition.

To mark the opening of World Breastfeeding Week, a discussion programme was scheduled to be held on Saturday at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain was expected to attend as chief guest, alongside State Minister for Health Dr M A Muhit and the Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Health, Dr S M Ziauddin Hyder, among other senior health officials.