Health ministry validates ‘Breastfeeding Trend Initiative’ assessment report |30 January 2015

The Ministry of Health has validated the World Breastfeeding Trend initiative (WBTi) assessment report which it elaborated in December last year with the help of the Africa branch of the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN).

The WBTi was initiated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) back in 2006. The overall objective is to answer to the organisation’s recommendations that children are breastfed up to six months old, ensure continued breastfeeding alongside complementary food for the first two years and receive adequate food up to the age of six. It also aims at assessing the progress in the implementation of the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, while also advocating for polices, legislations and programmes in support of breastfeeding.

The WBTi assessment report for Seychelles evaluates progress the country has made in meeting the WHO’s child feeding strategy.

The validation process was completed on Wednesday morning during a stakeholders’ consultation workshop at the STC (Seychelles Trading Company) conference room on Latanier Road. It was attended by the principal secretary for Health Peggy Vidot, the ambassador for Women and Children Dr Erna Athanasius, WHO’s local representative Dr Cornelia Atsyor, the regional coordinator for IBFAN Africa Joyce Chanetsa and other health professionals.

Partners from other organisations such as the departments of social affairs and of risk and disaster management (DRDM) were also part of a multi-sectoral team which elaborated and validated the initiative.

In a short speech, Mrs Vidot observed that the assessment progress has gone very fast and that the Ministry of Health is happy that this is so.
She stressed the importance of breastfeeding and adequate food for young children.

“There is enough evidence to suggest that no food is more local, affordable and sustainable than breast milk. Breastfeeding reduces the risk of diarrhoea, chest infections and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancers, later on in life,” she said.

The principal secretary for health added that the improvement of infant and young feeding needs to become a truly inter-sectoral matter and nationwide priority.  She insisted that at a time when the Ministry of Health is intensifying its “my health, my responsibility” campaign and at a time when the government is putting so much emphasis on early childhood care and education, this is one area where the country can and must do better.

She concluded by announcing that in the months to come, the Ministry of Health will work closer together with its partners both in government and within the civil society to draw from international best practices and adopt the recommendations of the various international organisations.

On her part, Mrs Chanetsa added that the WBTi replies to Millennium Development Goals (MDs) four and five which are to reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five and to reduce the maternal mortality ratio by three quarters.

It is expected that the WBTi assessment report will identify the programme’s strong and weak points in view of future strategies and implementation.