By George Swarei
Harare, August 7, 2024 – As World Breastfeeding Week comes to a close today, Zimbabwe has been urged to take concrete steps to address the gaps in breastfeeding support and prevalence across different sectors of society.
The week-long campaign, which started on August 1, aimed to raise awareness about the benefits of breastfeeding and the inequalities that exist in breastfeeding support and prevalence.
Despite progress made, Zimbabwe still falls short of the Sustainable Development Goal target of at least 70% of infants exclusively breastfed in the first six months of life, with only 42% achieving this milestone.
The Government, UNICEF, and the World Health Organization have called for a multi-sectoral approach to support breastfeeding, including legislation, health systems, advocacy, monitoring, and breastfeeding interventions.
As the world marks the end of World Breastfeeding Week, stakeholders are urged to continue working together to protect and promote breastfeeding, and ensure that all mothers have access to comprehensive support to breastfeed successfully.
