The Global Breastfeeding Scorecard documents key indicators on the policies and programmes that impact breastfeeding rates and provides information on current rates of breastfeeding around the world. It is intended to encourage progress, increases accountability, and document change for all countries as they take the necessary steps to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.
The 2018 Global Nutrition Report shares insights into the current state of global nutrition, highlighting the unacceptably high burden of malnutrition in the world.
The First 1,000 Days: Listening to America’s Mothers summarizes the findings from in-depth interviews and ethnographies conducted by 1,000 Days with nearly 60 mothers of young children from across the country. Building upon our first-of-its-kind report on the nutritional health of America’s mothers, babies and toddlers – The First 1,000 Days: Nourishing America’s Future – this new report goes beyond the numbers to lift up the voices and stories of moms themselves.
Breastfeeding is one of the smartest investments a country can make to build its future prosperity. It offers children unparalleled health and brain-building benefits. It has the power to save the lives of women and children throughout the world, and the power to help national economies grow through lower health care costs and smarter workforces. Yet many societies are failing to adequately support women to breastfeed, and as a result, the majority of the world’s children – along with a majority of the world’s countries – are not able to reap the full benefits of breastfeeding.
In 2012—in an effort to rally the international community around improving nutrition—the 176 members of the World Health Assembly endorsed the first-ever global nutrition targets, focusing on six areas: stunting, anemia, low birthweight, childhood overweight, breastfeeding, and wasting. These targets aim to boost investments in cost-effective interventions, spearhead better implementation practices, and catalyze progress toward decreasing malnutrition.
Early life diet and feeding behaviors play an important role in establishing healthy food preferences and behaviors and are crucial for preventing childhood overweight and obesity. This report presents evidence-based recommendations for promoting healthy nutrition and feeding patterns for infants and toddlers from birth to 24 months, with an emphasis on dietary quality, portion sizes, and mealtime environment. Physical activity, soothing, and sleep are also discussed in the report, as they have also been shown to influence early life feeding behaviors and weight outcomes. These guidelines were developed by an expert panel convened by Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. They are based on current scientific evidence related to responsive parenting practices. The aim of the guidelines is to empower caregivers to address the nutrition and well-being of infants and toddlers by offering them healthier food and beverage options in response to their behavioral cues. The guidelines can be used by parents and caregivers in the home, as well as be applied in child-care settings where many infants and toddlers are served.
The problem of poor nutrition is pervasive throughout the U.S. Too many American women and young children suffer from high rates of obesity, food insecurity, unhealthy diets, and low rates of breastfeeding. In order to illuminate the challenge of malnutrition in the United States and galvanize a movement to ensure that every child has a healthy start to life, 1,000 Days – with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation – launched a first-of-its-kind report on the nutritional health of America’s mothers, babies and toddlers.
The problem of poor nutrition is pervasive throughout the U.S. Too many American women and young children suffer from high rates of obesity, food insecurity, unhealthy diets, and low rates of breastfeeding. In order to illuminate the challenge of malnutrition in the United States and galvanize a movement to ensure that every child has a healthy start to life, 1,000 Days – with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation – launched a first-of-its-kind report on the nutritional health of America’s mothers, babies and toddlers.
Malnutrition kills millions of children every year and robs millions more of the opportunity to reach their full potential. This global crisis requires global action in order to give every child a fair start to life.
In 2012, world leaders committed to reaching six global nutrition targets by 2025. Yet, reaching these targets in the next decade will require significant investment. World leaders must act now to fulfill their promises and save millions of lives.
The World Bank, Results for Development Institute, and 1,000 Days – with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation – conducted an in-depth analysis of how much it will cost to meet four of the six global nutrition targets, and how to pay for it. Download the report to learn more.
Released January 2016, The Lancet Breastfeeding Series highlights the significant economic and health benefits for both rich and poor countries alike when governments support breastfeeding through meaningful investments and programs. Based on a growing body of evidence, the Series finds the global costs of lower cognitive ability associated with not breastfeeding amount to more than $300 billion each year, a figure comparable to the entire global pharmaceutical market. Moreover, 820,000 children’s lives could be saved annually with increased breastfeeding rates, a nearly 13 percent reduction in all under-5 child deaths.
