Last update: Nov 2007

Proper infant feeding practices are key to child survival

Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life has the potential to avert 13 per cent of all under-five deaths in developing countries, making it the most effective preventive method of saving children’s lives. Timely and appropriate complementary feeding could avert a further six per cent of under-five deaths.

Current breastfeeding patterns, while improving significantly over the past 10 years, are still far from the recommended levels. Only 38 per cent of all infants born in the developing world are exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, and less than 60 per cent receive complementary foods when they should. Although global levels of continued breastfeeding are relatively high at one year of age (76 per cent), less than half of infants are still breastfeeding at two years of age (40 per cent).

Sub-Sarahan countries made striking gains

There is a large disparity among regions. South Asia has the highest rates of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life at 45 per cent, while Central and Eastern Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) has the lowest at 19 per cent.

Nevertheless, CEE/CIS countries made significant improvements. Rates more than doubled from 10 per cent to 19 per cent between 1996 and 2006. Exclusive breastfeeding rates in Sub-Saharan Africa and the East Asia and the Pacific also increased during this period, from 22 per cent to 30 per cent and from 27 per cent to 32 per cent respectively. Rates remained roughly constant in South Asia and declined in the Middle East/North Africa.

While overall rates in Sub-Saharan Africa remain low, striking improvements have been made in 16 countries over the past 15 years. In fact, rates of exclusive breastfeeding for infants younger than six months increased by more than 20 per cent in seven Sub-Saharan African countries.