Joint statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell and WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus ahead of World Breastfeeding Week
Countries urged to strengthen breastfeeding support and health systems to give every child a healthy start in life
NEW YORK (July 31, 2026) - Too many mothers and families around the world still lack access to services and interventions that enable and support breastfeeding.
Yet breastfeeding is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to protect a child’s health. It provides infants and young children with essential nutrition, increases immunity, helps protect against serious illness, and supports cognitive development.
For mothers, breastfeeding brings important health benefits too, helping reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases such as breast and ovarian cancers, and type 2 diabetes.
Encouragingly, breastfeeding rates around the world are going up. Exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months rose from around 37 percent in 2012 to over 47 percent today. In the past five years, the prevalence of breastfeeding up to two years of age rose from 38 percent to 50 percent.
These gains show that sustained investments in policies and programs for mothers and families are working. Yet progress remains uneven, with many countries lagging behind global targets. Coverage of services supporting breastfeeding remains low, policies are inconsistently enforced, and service quality is often inadequate, especially in low-income, fragile, and humanitarian settings.
The evidence is clear: Cost-effective interventions include skilled breastfeeding support in health systems, community-based counselling, maternity protection policies, and protection from the exploitative marketing of commercial milk formulas.
The returns are significant. Scaling up breastfeeding could prevent almost 400,000 child deaths and around 140,000 maternal deaths each year. Every US$1 invested in breastfeeding promotion generates an estimated US$59 in economic returns through lower healthcare costs, improved cognitive development, higher educational attainment, and increased lifetime earnings.
This World Breastfeeding Week, under the theme, “Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works,” UNICEF and WHO are calling on countries to:
- Strengthen health systems to provide quality breastfeeding support for mothers and newborns.
- Expand community-based counselling and peer programs.
- Fully implement and enforce the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.
- Invest in paid maternity leave and supportive workplace policies.
- Integrate breastfeeding interventions into antenatal, perinatal, and postnatal health care services.
- Sustain breastfeeding support in humanitarian and fragile contexts.
Breastfeeding is vital. By investing in proven solutions, we can give every child the best possible start in life and ensure every mother gets the care and services she needs.
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Notes for editors:
Photographs available here.
About WHO
Dedicated to the well-being of all people and guided by science, the World Health Organization leads and champions global efforts to give everyone, everywhere an equal chance at a safe and healthy life.
We are the UN agency for health that connects nations, partners and people on the front lines in 150+ locations – leading the world’s response to health emergencies, preventing disease, addressing the root causes of health issues and expanding access to medicines and health care. Our mission is to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable.
“Together for health. Stand with science”, the theme of World Health Day 2026 marks a year-long campaign to highlight science as the foundation for protecting health and well-being worldwide.
ABOUT UNICEF USA
UNICEF USA advances the global mission of UNICEF by rallying the American public to support the world’s most vulnerable children. Together, we are working toward a world that upholds the rights of all children and helps every child thrive. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.
For more information please contact:
Nina Marie Costa, UNICEF USA, 973-519-5253, NMCosta@unicefusa.org