Building Better Breastfeeding Counselling Programmes: New tools for implementation
Recordings and Tools Now Available
Learn about newly introduced tools and resources to support implementation of recommendations on providing skilled breastfeeding counselling to all women during the first thousand days of their children’s lives.
Resources include:
- Implementation Guidance on Counselling Women to Improve Breastfeeding Practices (UNICEF and WHO), presented by Laurence Grummer-Strawn and Fatmata Fatima Sesay
- Infant and Young Child Feeding Counselling: Training Course (WHO), presented by Carmen Casanovas
- Operational Guidance: Breastfeeding Counselling in Emergencies (ENN and IFE Core Group), presented by Isabelle Modigell
- Advocacy Brief: The Role of Midwives and Nurses in Protecting, Promoting, and Supporting Breastfeeding (Collective), presented by Carole Kenner, Theresa Shaver, Leah Greenspan
- Compendium of Skilled Breastfeeding Case Studies (Collective), presented by a panel of participants from the case studies
These resources provide governments (including ministries of health), civil society organizations, UN agencies’ staff, donors, and others with specific steps in improving and expanding breastfeeding counselling in their communities, including in emergency situations, and provide examples of how this has been achieved in different countries.
Sponsored by the Global Breastfeeding Collective, including UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and more than 25 prominent international agencies calling on governments, policy makers development partners and civil society to increase investment in breastfeeding worldwide.
Each session was recorded with case studies specific to the region.
The 03 August session is focused on the Americas, Europe, and western Africa. Interpretations are available in Spanish and French.
The 04 August recording includes resources for eastern Africa, eastern Mediterranean, Asia, and Western Pacific. The webinar is interpreted in Russian and Arabic.
Agenda
Tuesday, 3 August 2021, 14:00-15:30 UTC
| Time (UTC) | Topic and Speaker |
|---|---|
| 14:00 |
Welcome and introductions: Grainne Moloney, UNICEF (moderator) |
| 14:04 |
Introductory remarks: Dr. Victor Aguayo, UNICEF |
| 14:09 |
Keynote presentation (recorded): Natasha Bilimoria, USAID |
| 14:16 |
Video: Mother’s perspectives on breastfeeding counselling, featuring mothers from around the world |
| 14:22 |
Presentation on Implementation Guidance on Counselling Women to Improve Breastfeeding Practices (published by UNICEF and WHO) Laurence Grummer-Strawn, WHO |
| 14:34 |
Presentation on Infant and Young Child Feeding Counselling: Training Course (published by WHO) Dr Ma del Carmen Casanovas, Universidad Mayor de San Andres |
| 14:40 |
Presentation on Operational Guidance: Breastfeeding Counselling in Emergencies (published by the Emergency Nutrition Network and Infant Feeding in Emergencies Core Group) Isabelle Modigell, IFE Core Group |
| 14:46 |
Presentation on Advocacy Brief: The Role of Midwives and Nurses in Protecting, Promoting, and Supporting Breastfeeding (published by the Global Breastfeeding Collective) Theresa Shaver, USAID, GHSI-III contract and Carole Kenner, Council of International Neonatal Nurses |
| 14:51 |
Video and Panel on Compendium of Skilled Breastfeeding Counselling Case Studies (published by the Global Breastfeeding Collective) Lesley Oot, Alive & Thrive (panel moderator) Video compilation of cases from Canada, Guatemala, Burkina Faso, and Spain Moderated panel: |
| 15:27 | Summary and Adjournment |
Wednesday, 4 August 2021, 6:00-7:30 UTC
| Time (UTC) | Topic and Speaker |
|---|---|
| 6:00 |
Welcome and introductions: Rukhsana Haider, Training and Assistance for Health & Nutrition Foundation (moderator) |
| 6:04 |
Introductory remarks: Dr. Naoko Yamamoto, WHO |
| 6:09 |
Keynote presentation (recorded): Natasha Bilimoria, USAID |
| 6:16 |
Video: Mother’s perspectives on breastfeeding counselling, featuring mothers from around the world |
| 6:22 |
Presentation on Implementation Guidance on Counselling Women to Improve Breastfeeding Practices (published by UNICEF and WHO) Laurence Grummer-Strawn, WHO |
| 6:34 |
Presentation on Infant and Young Child Feeding Counselling: Training Course (published by WHO) Dr Ma del Carmen Casanovas, Universidad Mayor de San Andres |
| 6:40 |
Presentation on Operational Guidance: Breastfeeding Counselling in Emergencies (published by the Emergency Nutrition Network and Infant Feeding in Emergencies Core Group) Isabelle Modigell, IFE Core Group |
| 6:46 |
Presentation on Advocacy Brief: The Role of Midwives and Nurses in Protecting, Promoting, and Supporting Breastfeeding (published by the Global Breastfeeding Collective) Theresa Shaver, USAID, GHSI-III contract and Leah Greenspan, USAID, GHSI-III contract |
| 6:51 |
Video and Panel on Compendium of Skilled Breastfeeding Counselling Case Studies (published by the Global Breastfeeding Collective) Altrena Mukuria, USAID Advancing Nutrition (panel moderator) Video compilation of cases from Kuwait, Kenya, Nepal, and Vietnam Moderated panel: |
| 7:27 | Summary and Adjournment |
Speakers
Grainne Moloney
Grainne Moloney is a Senior Advisor at the UNICEF HQ in New York and leads the unit on Early Childhood Nutrition which includes breastfeeding, complementary feeding and prevention and treatment of micronutrients deficiencies in the 0-5years age group. Previously Grainne worked in the UNICEF East and Southern Africa regional office on prevention and treatment of wasting, and nutrition in emergencies. Prior to that she served as the Chief of the Nutrition with UNICEF Kenya and the Chief Technical Advisor for the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit, (FAO) Somalia. An Irish national, Grainne holds an MSc in Public Health Nutrition from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and BSc. in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from Trinity College Dublin.
Rukhsana Haider
Rukhsana Haider, MBBS, MSc, PhD, FABM, is a physician, a public health nutritionist and a skilled breastfeeding counsellor. She is the Founder and Chairperson of the Training and Assistance for Health & Nutrition Foundation (TAHN), in Bangladesh, and Co-Chair of the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) Steering Committee. She has previously worked at WHO’s South-East Asia Regional Office in India as Regional Adviser for Nutrition, Health and Development, and in Bangladesh with UNICEF, John Snow Inc. and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research. Rukhsana has been actively protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding for over 3 decades, both nationally and internationally, and is on various advisory committees. She is a researcher and implementer, with skilled breastfeeding and peer counselling for infant and young child feeding and nutrition being her special area of interest.
Dr. Victor Aguayo
Dr. Victor Aguayo is UNICEF Director for Nutrition. His work is guided by the belief that hunger and malnutrition are a violation of children’s rights. He has 30 years of research, policy, program, and humanitarian experience in Maternal and Child Nutrition in Latin America, Africa, Asia and globally. A public health doctor, Victor Aguayo graduated in Biomedical Sciences, holds an MPH in International Health and a PhD in Public Health Nutrition. He has published over 70 articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Dr Naoko Yamamoto
Dr Naoko Yamamoto is WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage - Healthier Populations. Previously, she also held the role of WHO’s Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage and Health Systems. Dr Yamamoto brings nearly 30 years of experience working on health. She served as Senior Assistant Minister for Global Heath in Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. In this capacity, she was heavily involved in Japan’s global health leadership, including hosting and organizing the International Conference on Universal Health Coverage in 2015 and supporting the compilation of the G7 Ise-Shima Vision for Global Health and Kobe Communique of the G7 Health Ministers’ Meeting in 2016, both of which highlighted the importance of promoting universal health coverage. Prior to this role, she served in numerous health-related positions within the government of Japan, including as Director General of the Hokkaido Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare, Director of the Health and Medical Division at the Ministry of Defense, and Counsellor to the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations. She holds a medical degree, a PhD in epidemiology and a Masters in Public Health.
Natasha Bilimoria
Natasha Bilimoria serves as the Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Bureau of Global Health at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). She has over twenty years of experience working in multilateral institutions, non-profit organizations and government on government affairs, strategic planning, policy and communications. Most recently, Ms. Bilimoria was the Director of U.S. Strategy for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance where she led efforts to mobilize public and private sector support in the United States to fund childhood immunization in the world’s poorest countries. Prior to taking on this role in 2013, Ms. Bilimoria served for seven years as President of Friends of the Global Fight, where she led U.S. efforts to support the lifesaving work of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. Previously, she held several positions at the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Ms. Bilimoria also served in the Clinton Administration at the White House’s National Economic Council and in the US Department of Treasury, where she worked on domestic economic development issues. She received her Master's Degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago.
Laurence M. Grummer-Strawn
Laurence M. Grummer-Strawn, MPA, MA, PhD is the unit head of the Food and Nutrition Actions in Health Systems unit at the World Health Organization. He coordinates WHO work on infant and young child nutrition, treatment of acute malnutrition, and prevention of micronutrient deficiencies. Until December 2014, he served as chief of the Nutrition Branch at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Having earned his PhD from Princeton University, he worked at CDC for over 23 years, in the areas of Reproductive Health and Nutrition. He is an epidemiologist who has published over 180 scientific publications. He is recognized internationally for his work on vitamin and mineral deficiencies, breastfeeding policy, and development of both the CDC and the WHO Growth Charts. He leads the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative, the Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, and the Global Breastfeeding Collective.
Fatmata Fatima Sesay
Fatmata Fatima Sesay is a Nutrition Specialist, Infant Feeding with UNICEF HQ in New York. She has 15 years of experience in Maternal, Infant, and Young Child and Micronutrient Nutrition in both development and humanitarian settings. Fatmata holds an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a BSc and an MSc in Nutrition and Dietetics from Njala University, Sierra Leone.
Dr. Ma del Carmen Casanovas Vargas
Dr Ma del Carmen Casanovas Vargas is a Bolivian paediatrician with a master’s in public health. She has been trained in lactation management and has been training health professionals, other health workers and community workers on lactation management, infant and young child feeding as well as breastfeeding counselling. She has many years of experience as a paediatric clinician and university professor and has worked with the Ministry of Health of her country. She has international experience in the areas of child survival, growth and development, nutrition and infections. She has worked as staff member of WHO for many years, in infant and young child feeding, child growth and development, maternal health and primary health care, training health professionals and community workers from many countries and regions. She is part of the team that promoted the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative as well as the development of various counselling courses. Currently, Dr Casanovas is a professor at the Medical School of the Universidad Mayor de San Andres in la Paz Bolivia, teaching 5th year students and coordinating activities in Paediatric Internship. She is a national and international consultant primarily in breastfeeding and the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative.
Isabelle Modigell
Isabelle Modigell is the lead author of the Operational Guidance: Breastfeeding Counselling in Emergencies, which she worked on closely with Linda Shaker Berbari on behalf of ENN and the IFE Core Group. She is an IYCF-E specialist with a public health background and over eight years’ experience working in diverse humanitarian contexts across three continents and for various bodies, including Save the Children, ENN, UNICEF and the GNC Technical Alliance. Following three years of deploying as part of emergency response teams, she became an independent consultant in 2017. Since then she has been responsible for the development of national IYCF-E guidelines and conducting various programmatic evaluations and reviews, and has been closely involved in IYCF-E capacity building initiatives and the development of global guidance, including the Operational Guidance on Infant Feeding in Emergencies. Isabelle is currently the Interim Global IYCF-E Adviser for Save the Children. She also continues to work in private practice as a breastfeeding counsellor and postpartum doula from her home in Thailand.
Carole Kenner
Carole Kenner, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP, ANEF is the Chief Executive Officer, Council of International Neonatal Nurses, Inc. (COINN) and Carol Kuser Loser Dean and Professor at The College of New Jersey School of Nursing, Health, and Exercise Science. Dr. Kenner received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Cincinnati, and both a Master of Science in neonatal/perinatal nursing and doctorate with a minor in higher education from Indiana University. She serves as secretary for the Healthcare Professionals Association constituency for PMNCH. She has authored more than 100 journal articles and 40 textbooks. Her career is dedicated to nursing education and policy to improve the health of neonates and families. She helped set healthcare standards for educating neonatal nurses nationally and internationally. Her research interests are transition from hospital to home; neonatal workforce issues; and developmental/family-centered care.
Theresa Shaver
Theresa Shaver is Senior Maternal and Newborn Health Advisor in the Office of Maternal Child Health and Nutrition at USAID. Theresa is a globally recognized nurse-midwife with more than 35 years of experience in international health program management and implementation focused primarily on maternal, newborn and reproductive health. She is a skilled technical advisor and leader in global partnerships, non-profit organizations, strategic planning and program design, community mobilization, capacity building, advocacy campaign development, and evaluation. She has worked extensively in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Africa, and South America. In recognition of outstanding lifetime expertise and reputation in maternal health, Theresa was awarded the Maternal Health Visionary Award by the Maternal Health Task Force at Harvard University in 2018.
Dr. Leah Greenspan
Dr. Leah Greenspan is a board certified Pediatrician and Neonatologist. She has worked clinically in the Washington DC area for almost 20 years. Dr. Greenspan has extensive experience working in Global Health with a focus on newborn health in Sub Saharan Africa and Asia. Prior to joining the team at USAID, she worked with multiple NGOs as a Senior Newborn Health Advisor developing and implementing programs both in the rural and urban settings to build the capacity of medical professionals and strengthen health systems around the continuum of maternal newborn care. Her particular area of interest is improving the quality of care through strengthening and health workforce and health systems around the small and sick newborn.
Lesley Oot
Lesley Oot, MPH is an Associate Director of Alive & Thrive (A&T), a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded global nutrition initiative that seeks to save lives, prevent illness, and ensure healthy growth of mothers and children. Ms. Oot is a global health professional with more than 10 years of experience providing programmatic and technical assistance to maternal, infant and young child nutrition programs in Africa and Asia. Prior to joining A&T she worked on two flagship nutrition programs funded by USAID, FANTA and A2Z. She has an MPH from Emory University, with a concentration in global health and public nutrition.
Altrena Mukuria
Altrena Mukuria, DrPH, CLS, is a Senior Technical Advisor with Save the Children working on USAID Advancing Nutrition. She is a seasoned global health specialist with over 30 years’ experience working in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Altrena conducted her doctoral studies in public health at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and her dissertation was on exclusive breastfeeding and the role of social support and social networks. Since then she has published papers on engaging fathers and grandmothers in infant and young child feeding in Western Kenya. Lately she has been working on the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative, helping countries to adapt and scale up the latest UNICEF/WHO Guidelines. Dr. Mukuria is leading a study on national responsibilities for BFHI in the Kyrgyz Republic and Malawi. Previously she served as the Director of Country Initiatives on the USAID Strengthening Partnerships, Results and Innovations for Nutrition Globally (SPRING) Project and the USAID Infant and Young Child Nutrition (IYCN) Project. Dr. Mukuria completed training as a certified lactation specialist (CLS) and is working towards becoming an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.
Michelle Buckner
Michelle Buckner is the mother of 3 breastfeed children, holds a degree in Social Work, was a La Leche League Leader for 15 years and currently coordinates the Breastfeeding Buddies Program in Waterloo Region, Canada. Michelle has been supporting women and families for 20 years, has spoken at conferences across Canada on the topic of peer breastfeeding support, reaching priority populations, and the peer lead model of breastfeeding support. Michelle is the co author of several provincial Best Start peer breastfeeding training courses, is a BFI Level 1 and WHO peer breastfeeding course facilitator. Michelle sat on the RNAO breastfeeding advisory panel, secured 4 year funding for breastfeeding advocacy, was awarded the Ontario Elementary Teachers Federation “Women Working in Social Activism” award and the Laurier University “Social Inclusion award” for her work with women and children who face barriers to healthcare and breastfeeding support.
Hector (Romeo) Menendez
Hector (Romeo) Menendez is an Ob-Gyn Medical Doctor, who graduated from San Carlos University of Guatemala. He is Past President of the Guatemalan Ob-Gyn Association, and a member of several regional ob-gyn associations. He has served as coordinator of the ALARM International Program; a member of the “Safe Motherhood and Newborn Health Committee” representing the Latin America and Caribbean region; a consultant on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Issues for bilateral and multilateral agencies; coordinator of the Executive Unit at the National Program for Reproductive Health led by UNDP/Ministry of Health of Guatemala; and a member of the Maternal and Perinatal Health Research Team for the Central America and Panama Nutrition Institute/Pan American Health Organization and Social Security Guatemalan Institute. Since 2013 to date has worked as Project Management Specialist in USAID Guatemala where he has served as technical advisor for the maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health and nutrition portfolio for the Health and Education Office. Mr. Menendez also has M.Sc. degrees in both Political Sciences and International Relations from Rafael Landivar University, as well as a Certificate in Social Development with emphasis in Management and Public Policies, and has worked as Professor in Political Sciences.
Nathalie Likhite
Nathalie Likhite is Senior Social and Behavioural Change Advisor with the Alive & Thrive initiative in West Africa since 2019. She provides technical leadership and support in social and behavioural change (SBC) to Alive & Thrive’s activities in Burkina Faso and West Africa, as well as to regional partnerships to improve maternal, infant and young child nutrition (MIYCN). This includes the Stronger With Breastmilk Only regional initiative led by UNICEF, WHO and Alive & Thrive. Her work focuses on the design of people-centred programmes, using SBC processes and approaches; promoting of the strategic use of data and other assets available in countries and use of lessons learned from successful MIYCN experiences to build capacity of national programmes. Prior to joining Alive & Thrive, she provided technical support to innovative breastfeeding initiatives for UNICEF HQ and West and Central Africa offices in Bangladesh, Ghana and Kenya and countries in the West and Central Africa region. She has been working in international health for over 20 years with international organizations and NGOs. She holds a Masters’ degree in Social Sciences.
Maria-Teresa Hernández-Aguilar
Maria-Teresa Hernández-Aguilar (Maite) volunteers her work since 2007, for IHAN-Spain (Association for Humanizing Perinatal Assistance and Human Lactation) which is the not-for-profit association that runs the Baby-Friendly Initiative in Spain (BFHI-Spain). She graduated as a Medical Doctor from the Spanish Complutense University (Madrid), is a specialist in Paediatrics and holds a PhD from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Valencia. In 1991, she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study at the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley and obtained a master’s degree in nutrition and Public Health. She has been an IBCLC since 2014. She has worked for the Spanish national public health system in several hospitals and primary care health centres, as a paediatrician. In November 2013, she founded the first Clinical Breastfeeding Unit in Spain, where she currently works as a doctor and director of the BFU. She received National Quality Award Recognition for this initiative in 2015 from the Spanish Ministry of Health. She has authored and co-authored numerous scientific articles and book chapters. She is qualified as breastfeeding trainer and assessor for BHFI and has taught breastfeeding to many professionals pre and in service, since 1993.
Dr. Mona Alsumaie
Dr. Mona Alsumaie is a Pediatrician, Senior Nutritionist, and IBCLC. Her current position is the Director of Nutrition Education and Community Nutrition Promotion Department of the Public Authority of Food and Nutrition, Kuwait. Her major responsibilities and other positions are: The Coordinator of the Kuwait Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition Program, the Country Coordinator of IBLCE exam, the Head of Kuwait Lactation Consultants Society, an active member at the Board of Directors of BirthKuwait, a local Mothers Support Group, the President of IBFAN Arab World (IAW), a member of World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA)-International Advisory Council (IAC), and a member of the Global BFHI Network.
Dr. Mary Waiyego
Dr. Mary Waiyego is a neonatologist at Kenyatta National Hospital, a national referral and teaching hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. Prior to her current position, she worked for Pumwani Maternity Hospital (PMH) where she served as paediatrician from 2013 to 2016, and neonatologist and team leader from 2018 to 2020. While at Pumwani Maternity Hospital, her purview was to oversee care improvement training and mentorship, and innovative service delivery, including the establishment of the first Human Milk Bank (HMB) in Kenya, linked to the PMH newborn unit. Building on her roles at PMH, Dr. Waiyego currently serves in an advisory capacity of the ongoing work in the HMB. Having participated in several quality improvement programmes, she is particularly passionate about and interested in strategies aimed towards optimizing preterm growth and development.
Nisha Sharma
Nisha Sharma, Research Manager for Helen Keller International, is a public health professional with ten years of experience in public health research, monitoring and evaluating child nutrition programs in Nepal. She is passionate about improving nutrition of young children. She currently works as Research Manager for Helen Keller International’s project - ARCH, which aims to provide the evidence to guide the development of policies and programs related to infant and young child nutrition. Nisha is the recipient of Australia Awards in 2013 to commence MPH from University of New South Wales, Australia.
Duong Vu
Duong Vu, Alive & Thrive Southeast Asia, Viet Nam Program Manager, has a decade of experience in policy advocacy on equitable health financing, domestic resources mobilization in health sectors, partnership building and program management. At Alive & Thrive, Duong leads the development and execution of workplans for policy advocacy, strategic communications, and breastfeeding-friendly health systems in Viet Nam. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Da Nang Learning & Research Center for Newborn Care and Human Milk, she leads the design and implementation of the Center of Excellence for Breastfeeding initiative nationwide in Viet Nam, and plays advisory roles to the replication in Southeast Asia. She is based in Hanoi, Viet Nam.