Caribbean Workshop on the WHO/UNICEF Global Strategy for Infant Young Child Feeding and the New WHO Child Growth Standards

Fort du France, Martinique,

October 13-14

AGENDA

Justification

Interventions to promote optimal breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices are two out of the three most effective preventive interventions available to prevent child mortality . These interventions are also essential to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals related to child survival, the eradication of hunger, prevention of HIV/AIDS, and educational attainment. To revitalize world attention to the impact that feeding practices have on the survival of infants and young children, WHO and UNICEF jointly developed the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding. It was endorsed by Member States at the fifty-fifth World Health Assembly in May 2002 (WHA55.24). The Director-General of WHO requested Member States to implement it, as appropriate to national circumstances, in order to promote optimal feeding for all infants and young children. In addition, WHO recently completed a multi-center growth reference study and developed a new international growth standard for children, based on breastfed children living in optimal conditions.

Objective

To develop and strengthen national plans for the adoption of the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding and the new WHO Growth Standards in the Caribbean, emphasizing inter-programmatic work among nutrition, IMCI, and prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV/AIDS.

Expected Results

Methodology: Presentations, discussion, and working groups

Participants: Focal points for nutrition and Family Health Program Coordinators in the Ministry of Health, WHO, PAHO, Caribbean Food and Nutrition Centre (CFNI), and UNICEF.

Countries: Anguilla, Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, French Guiana, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos.

Materials distributed:

1. Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding (PDF file 125 KB)

2. Articles on the WHO Multi-Center Growth Reference Study (PDF file 918 KB) | (PDF file 1,092 KB)

3. Guiding Principles for Complementary Feeding of the Breastfed Child (PDF file 18,523 KB)

4. Guiding Principles for Complementary Feeding of the non-Breastfed Child (PDF file 1,057 KB)

5. HIV and Infant Feeding: A guide for health-care managers and supervisors (PDF file 1,406 KB)

6. HIV and Infant Feeding: Guidelines for decision-makers (PDF file 1,419 KB)

7. HIV transmission through breastfeeding: A review of available evidence (PDF file 494 KB)

8. HIV and Infant Feeding: Framework for priority action (PDF file 701 KB)

9. Lancet article

10. IMCI Key Family Practices (PDF file 539 KB)

Presentations

1. Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) (Power Point file 654 KB)

2. Situation of infant and young feeding in the Caribbean (Power Point file 803 KB)

3. Provisions of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and Breastfeeding Counseling (Power Point file 45,856 KB)

4. Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS (Power Point file 646 KB)

5. New WHO Child Growth Standards (Power Point file 26,407 KB)

6. Guiding Principles for Complementary Feeding of the Breastfed Child (Power Point file 14,155 KB)

Working Groups

First Working Group: Identification of barriers, opportunities, and priorities for the incorporation of the Global Strategy and new growth standards in national policies and programs, including the definition of mechanisms and strategies to strengthen inter-programmatic work with IMCI and PMTCT. Instructions

First Working Group Presentations

English Speaking Countries and Surinam

French Speaking Countries

Second Working Group: Identification of priority actions for promotion/adoption of Global Strategy and introduction of new WHO child growth standards. Instructions

Second Working Group Presentations

English Speaking Countries and Surinam

French Speaking Countries

Workshop Evaluation