Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (IFE) Working Together in Emergencies IFE Core Group Picture removed

IFE Core Group - since 1999 SCN Working Group on Nutrition in Emergencies IFE Thematic Group IFE Core Group: UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, WHO ENN, IBFAN-GIFA, Fondation Tdh, CARE USA Associate members: ACF, Swiss IFRC

How does IFE Core Group work? Each member agency key participant Until 2004, co-ordination by NGOs, ENN since 2004 Member agency contribute technically and financially Work reflects a much wider network of collaborators

The Mandate Not a stand alone initiative –Article 24, Convention on on the Rights of the Child –UNICEF/WHO Global Strategy on IYCF (2003) –Innocenti Declaration on IYCF (2005) Lancet Child Survival Series - breastfeeding save 13% of U5 deaths worldwide (Jones et al, Lancet 362: 65–71, 2003) Breastfeeding protection and support at the cornerstone IFE Core Group work

Point of departure Much depends on: Perceptions and understanding of breastfeeding in the emergency setting Existing policies and their implementation by key actors Levels of knowledge and practical skills among those actors

Breastfeeding – the natural way?… OR... Venezuela, 2005 Discussion with flood victims DRC 2003, Kent Oage UNICEF Picture removed

…breastfeeding - the last resort?… OR... OR... Still weak from the birth, she was forced to breastfeed her 21- month-old child. "I had to, I couldn't give him anything else.“ [Mark Coultan, The Age, New Orleans, September 6, 2005] Picture removed

…not breastfeeding at all Lebanon, 2006 SC UK, Lebanon, 2006 Picture removed

Many players in emergencies Some obvious……. CARE IYCF-E/CARE Indonesia Breastfeeding Counselling course, W Timor, 2006 Picture removed

….some less so Picture removed

Dafur, 2006 Post-tsunami, Indonesia, 2006 Superdome, USA, 2005 Worldwide Picture removed

Approach adopted by the IFE Core Group The devil is in the detail Concerned with protection and support of: – breastfed AND non-breastfed infants and young children –complementary feeding in emergencies Policy development and implementation Capacity building in programme management Capacity building in practical knowledge and skills –translate into implementation of interventions that support appropriate infant feeding practices

Policy basis – Operational Guidance Non-technical Key audience: national governments, UN agencies, national and INGOs, donors International Code for Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes embedded Version 2.1, Feb 2007 Available from ENN,

Module 1 Emergency relief staff -policy makers -managers -logisticians -coordinators and -other non technical relief workers Use: local, regional, international level Delivery: 1- 2 hours

Module hours * health and nutrition staff * technical knowledge and practical skills to support appropriate IFE

Working documents Responsive updates to policy development and field experience –Version 2.1 of Ops Guidance, Feb, 2007 Filling gaps –Module 2 Managing malnourished infants under six months Picture removed

Added dimensions Influencing policy, e.g. UNHCR policy on handling milk products in refugee settings (2006) Instances where suspicious of commercial ventures around IFE Proactively promote Ops Guidance and training materials in ‘real time’ emergencies, e.g. Pakistan, Indonesia, Mozambique Informing research agendas that have practical implications, e.g Southampton University developing weighing scales for 0-5 years

International Strategy Meeting on IFE Oxford, 1-2 Nov, 2006 Funded by UNICEF, IBFAN-GIFA, CARE USA, organised by ENN –58 delegates, UN,INGO, academics, trainers, regional staff (Indonesia, Kenya, India, Mexico, Lebanon) –to identify key constraints to supporting and protecting appropriate infant feeding practices in emergencies – come up with strategy directions and practical steps to address these. –OUTCOME: Practical action points

New level of working together ENN/IFE Core Group joined the UNICEF-led Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) nutrition cluster Cluster funding, realise action points –Development of a UN joint policy on handling milk products underway, coordinated by the Core Group –Integrate breastfeeding support into guidance and training on the management of severe malnutrition –Translation of materials –Regional orientation workshop on IFE, Indonesia, 2007 Broadening our horizons –Other sectors, e.g. reproductive health, and other players, e.g. donors, media, military

Elements of successful working together Money isn’t everything……….. Staying power of individuals and agencies Fuelled by a strong belief in the need to address this issue Consistency and institutional memory amongst members Political and strategic thinking combined with technical expertise and good contact with the field

Room for Improvement Do more, quicker with funds? Money talks? –Million dollar IFE Core Group Committed individuals have a tough time institutionalising IFE work Notion prevails that breastfeeding is not a priority in early stages of emergency Engage with donors - limited –Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC): Standards on using dairy products in food aid (Aug 2006) –DFID: Humanitarian funding guidelines (due April 2007)

Support the Ops Guidance Reflects your position or where you would like to be and will work towards 19 agencies signed up in support CALL FOR collective support of the participants of this meeting CALL UPON individual agencies/ organisations/institutions to sign up to support the Ops Guidance

Call for Action Extend an invite to anyone who would like to engage with us on IFE, as individuals, as organisations, as groups –Complementary feeding in emergencies Replicate this working together at a regional level – CALL UPON the cluster initiative grab opportunity to harness the power of bringing people together to work on these issues

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