By Nupur Bidla | Sr.Programme Officer (Communications)
Dear Donors,
This project has been a success with your overwhelming support. This is our summary report of the work we did in previous 5 quarters. We would like to inform you that this project will no longer be active as it has achieved its committed targets and funding goal.
This project assured to promote breastfeeding with a holistic approach and BPNI has been successful in touching the lives of several women through field level training on breastfeeding counselling and reaching policy makers to improve existing policy and programme related to breastfeeding.
We adopted the following 4 approaches to promote breastfeeding in India through this project:
1) Educating policy makers and lobbying for better policies.
2) On-ground training of health workers and care providers to support mothers.
3) Monitoring the industry and company compliance to the National Law and International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes, and facilitating the initialization of the policies into practice.
4) Promoting Breastfeeding culture through social mobilization activities globally.
In the first quarter we trained a batch of 24 middle level breastfeeding counselors in the state of Bihar in India. This training helped the Government of Bihar to build its capacity in reducing neonatal deaths and child malnutrition cases through skilled breastfeeding counseling.These 24 trained health systems personnel will be responsible for reproductive, newborn care and breastfeeding counseling services at the primary health centre (PHC) level. Each PHC covers approximately a population of 30,000. Every counselor will counsel approx. 10 mothers in a day, covering 87,600 mothers in a year. This significantly contributed to our project objectives of saving infants lives by promoting breastfeeding.
In the second quarter we trained 30 field level counsellors in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Participants comprised of Aanganwadi workers (AWW), Aanganwadi helpers, ASHAs and Social Workers who belong to the health and nutritional care system of the government and provide end level care for health and child development programmes. These trained workers worked towards bringing a positive change in their communities through behaviour change catering to a population of around 25,000.
Advocacy being our core area, in the third and fourth quarter we conducted the breastfeeding policy, programme and practice assessment for India. We used the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) an innovative tool adapted from the WHO’s “Infant and Young Child Feeding - A tool for assessing national practices, policies and programmes”. Based on the assessment findings we published a report of the India assessment titled “Arrested Development” which was formally launched in September 2015 by Additional Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. The India WBTi assessment report highlights gaps in policy and programmes and IYCF practices, to be implemented for enhancing breastfeeding rates in the country.
In our fifth quarter report we coordinated the WBTi assessment verification work for 18 new countries helping them to create their country reports.
Through the above mentioned activities BPNI has not only impacted mother-baby dyads on the grass roots but also made a mark in national and international policy level advocacy to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
Thank you to all the donors and global giving for making it possible by donating more than the funding goal we aspired for! You can continue to help and support us through our new project "Help create 2000 breastfeeding counselors in India" on Global Giving.
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