LLLI representation at WABA HIV and Infant Feeding Meeting
(2004) Jacquie
Nutt, LLL Leader and Area Coordinator for LLL of South Africa, represented
La Leche League International (LLLI) at the HIV and Infant Feeding
Meeting, organized by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
(WABA) and held in Lusaka Zambia from 2-6 February. As one of WABA's
Core partners, LLLI was invited by WABA to participate in this special
meeting to plan WABA's response to the HIV and infant feeding issue.
After 2 days of visits to field projects, the workshop started with
presentations from the Core partners. Jacquie's presentation emphasized
LLLI's experience and background in breastfeeding peer counseling
training and the development and publication of materials that support
the breastfeeding woman. Following the presentations, the meeting
participants (25) divided into groups to work on action plans.
The following
is Jacquie's detailed report.
SWIMMING
WITH THE WHALES:
WABA HIV AND INFANT FEEDING PLANNING MEETING
By Jacquie Nutt, ACL LLL South Africa
Lusaka, Zambia
February 2-6 2004
Submitted by: Jacquie Nutt, LLL Leader, LLL of South Africa
Imagine spending
a week with highly energetic breastfeeding activists and promoters.
people like Felicity Savage, Audrey Naylor, Michael Latham, Ted Greiner,
Nomajoni Ntombela, Beth Styer, Anwal Fazal, Arun Gupta, Sally Page
Goertz, and Betty Sterken.
Those were
my companions recently in Lusaka, Zambia, at a workshop designed to
format a master plan for dealing with the immense infant-feeding dilemma
posed by HIV/AIDS.
I represented
LLLI along with other Core Partners of the World Alliance for Breastfeeding
Action (WABA) LINKAGES, IBFAN, Wellstart International, Academy
of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM) and the International Lactation Consultants
Association (ILCA), as well as donor agencies and Zambian government
health workers.
Meeting participants
benefited from having this particular workshop in a country where
the HIV infection rate is high and so is the culture of breastfeeding.
Our introduction
to the situation was through two day-long field trips one
to the north of Zambia where we visited a LINKAGES project where volunteers
support mothers in exclusive breastfeeding, and the other to the south
to see a UNICEF funded project. Initially the UNICEF project donated
free artificial milk to HIV positive mothers until UNICEF's
policy changed and free supplies were withdrawn.
For the past
few years, breastfeeding advocates have been asking that artificially
fed babies be followed up and the proponents of the MTCT (mother to
child transmission) pilot sites have not responded to this request.
One of the
priority plans from the WABA HIV and Infant Feeding Meeting is to
try and get such figures from all of the pilot sites and to figure
out how to ensure the best health outcomes for infants of HIV infected
mothers.
Other plans
involve:
1) Improved
communication between breastfeeding advocates and those recommending
replacement feeding to show that everyone wants only what is best
for babies. Funding will be sought to send WABA delegates to the major
HIV conferences. Personal contact will be made with the major HIV
researchers and it was proposed that WABA consider organising a conference
with such researchers within 3-5 years.
2) Greater access for anyone interested to HIV-related literature
through the WABA website.
3) Increased training by all Core Partners (LLLI, ILCA, Wellstart,
and IBFAN) on integrated breastfeeding and HIV counselors (BFHIV counselors)
in an attempt to clarify what are now conflicting messages.
4) Identifying gaps in the research.
5) Strengthening support for the Code of Marketing of Breast Milk
Substitutes.
LLLI’s
role in the WABA action plan
La Leche League’s
role can be with training (through the successful Peer Counsellor
Training Programme) and in information dissemination. It is proposed
that infant feeding in the light of HIV be considered as a topic for
LLL sponsored workshops and conferences. LLLI can also inform all
LLL Leaders of the WHO/UNICEF Global Strategy for Infant and Young
Child Feeding (GSIYCF).
Another idea
is to maximize World Breastfeeding Week activities. The 2004 theme
is particularly appropriate:
Exclusive
Breastfeeding: The Gold Standard.
Safe Sound, Sustainable
The Golden
Bow Initiative is also highlighted in the 2004 WBW Action Folder,
as well as the GSIYCF. The Global Strategy calls for all governments
to “promote and support exclusive breastfeeding for six months
and continued breastfeeding up to two years or beyond, while providing
women with the support that they require to achieve this goal.”
And more about
whales: On my flight back home via Johannesburg, I sat next to Audrey
Naylor, President and CEO of Wellstart International, and she told
me a fascinating tale of being called in to the San Diego Zoo in the
late 1970s to help a baby whale latch. It was one of the first whales
born there in captivity and something had gone wrong, so this 3.5-day-old
baby had never suckled. All sorts of tricks were tried, including
releasing thousands of litres of water from the tank to allow the
helpers to manoevre the calf, but sadly all efforts were in vain and
the calf died. Since then, however, San Diego zoo has had successful
births, including their 19th calf on 9 February 2004.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:33:57 UTC 2007.
