R4D: Funding breastfeeding promotion in developing countries
Jack Clift, program director, Emily Thacher, senior program associate, and Mary D’Alimonte, senior program officer, all at R4D, write, “The controversy over the U.S. activities at the World Health Assembly prompted us to look at how much the U.S. is doing to promote breastfeeding around the world. … Based on this latest analysis, the U.S. has, in the past, played a very important financial role in supporting breastfeeding promotion programs in low- and middle-income countries, and in 2015 was making this a relatively high priority for donor aid. Nonetheless, in order to maximize impact, it is important that donors are consistently using all tools at their disposal to support breastfeeding: global-level political commitments should reinforce — and be reinforced by — the country-level programs funded through ODA finance…” (7/26).