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2025/10/21

Table of contents

WABA

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) was initiated by WABA (World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action) in 1992. With the support of WHO, UNICEF, and many ministries of health and civil society partners, World Breastfeeding Week is organized annually. https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-breastfeeding-week

WBW is usually held during week 40 (to celebrate the end of pregnancy and the beginning of breastfeeding). However, depending on the country, other more appropriate times have been chosen. In the United States, it is the first week of August; in Switzerland, September; in France, October; in Tunisia, November, etc.

Celebrating WBW is a public health campaign. Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure the health and survival of children, yet currently less than half of infants under 6 months of age are exclusively breastfed.

Each year, a theme is highlighted and the WABA action dossier is translated and available for download.

2025 – Priority to breastfeeding: creating sustainable support systems

Investing in breastfeeding is investing in the future. It is time to recognize breastfeeding as one of the fundamental pillars of health, development, and equity throughout life https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-breastfeeding-week/2025

WBW program in Geneva from September 21-28: https://www.hug.ch/smam-2025 (all week) and Ensemble au sein du parc (Saturday, September 27, 2025)

This year, World Breastfeeding Week is once again focusing on the environment and climate change. The campaign highlights the importance of prioritizing breastfeeding by putting in place strong and sustainable support systems. An environment that is supportive of breastfeeding is not only beneficial for families, but also significantly reduces the environmental impact associated with artificial feeding. The WBW2025 campaign aims to connect actors at all levels involved in breastfeeding support to create strong and sustainable support systems. We will also highlight the World Health Assembly (WHA) nutritional targets for 2025. https://www.who.int/teams/nutrition-and-food-safety/global-targets-2025

Previous WBWs

Here is the list of the previous themes: https://waba.org.my/wbw/#previous-wbws

2024 – Closing the Gap

The theme of World Breastfeeding Week #wbw2024: Closing the gap in breastfeeding support https://worldbreastfeedingweek.org (Closing the gap: breastfeeding support for all)

For more information, check our newspost here https://www.gifa.org/en/wbw-2024/

2023 – Enabling breastfeeding – Making a difference for working parents

#WBW2023 will focus on breastfeeding and employment/work. It will showcase the impact of paid leave, workplace support and emerging parenting norms on breastfeeding through the lens of parents themselves. Target audiences including governments, policymakers, workplaces, communities and parents will be engaged to play their critical roles in empowering families and sustaining breastfeeding-friendly environments in the post-pandemic work life. The theme is aligned with thematic area 4 of the WBW-SDG 2030 campaign.

Have a look at our Newspost : WBW 2023 in Geneva and activities at HUG University Hospital Geneva

2022 – Step up for breastfeeding – educate and support

The #WBW2022 campaign will focus on strengthening the capacity of actors who need to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding at different levels of society. These actors constitute the principal chain of support for breastfeeding. Target audiences, including governments, health systems, workplaces, and communities, will be informed, educated, and empowered to strengthen their capacity to provide and maintain breastfeeding-friendly environments for families in the post-Covid world.

2021 – Protect breastfeeding – a shared responsibility

https://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/2021/ #WBW2021 will focus on how breastfeeding contributes to the survival, health and wellbeing of all, and the imperative to protect breastfeeding worldwide. The theme is aligned with thematic area 2 of the WBW-SDG 2030 campaign which highlights the links between breastfeeding and survival, health and wellbeing of women, children and nations.

2020 – Support breastfeeding for a healthier planet

Breastfeeding helps prevent climate change, protects biodiversity, and preserves natural resources. Greenfeeding includes community support for exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and the addition of appropriate complementary foods for older babies.

  • Bibliography and documents for the WBW Conference at CHUV, Wednesday, September 16, 2020, below.
  • Conference presentations will be available on the Swiss Breastfeeding Promotion website

The environmental cost of formula milk (WBW 2014, 2020, 2025)

The environmental cost of non-breastfeeding is significant – but what is needed is public health policy action, not blaming women for not breastfeeding. As authors Natalie Shenker and Amy Brown aptly put it in an article of 2019:

“In the midst of debates about how best to tackle the climate crisis, breastfeeding was recently highlighted as a significant way women can help to make a difference. But while there is no doubt of the important role breastfeeding can play, there must be caution in the way such messages are communicated.

This is because telling women that breastfeeding will help save the planet just further fuels feelings of anger, grief and loss women can experience when they are unable to breastfeed. The UK, for example, has some of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world, but that is not through lack of desire. Most women who want to breastfeed – but are unable to do so – have been affected by factors outside their control and are deeply frustrated at any message that implies they should just try harder.”

Support is needed for women who want to breastfeed, and a long-term vision is needed to make society as a whole breastfeeding-friendly.

Bibliography and References for breastfeeding and the environment – WBW 2014 – 2020 – 2025

Check also our Greenfeeding webpage

  1. Formula for Disaster Weighing the impact of formula feeding vs. breastfeeding on environment (Linnecar, Dadhich et al, IBFAN-Asia/BPNI 2014)
  2. Report on Carbon Footprints Due to Milk Formula: A Study from Selected Countries of the Asia-Pacific Region. Dadhich JP, Smith J, Iellamo A, et al.BPNI/IBFAN Asia. 2015 https://ibfanasia.org/docs/Carbon-Footprints-Due-to-Milk-Formula.pdf
  3. Why invest? –  The environmental costs of not breastfeeding (Rollins et al, Lancet 2016)
  4. UN Climate Action Summit (2019): Green Feeding  – healthy, local and sustainable foods from birth, van Esterik, Linnecar et al, IBFAN-GIFA-WBTi)
  5. Support for breastfeeding is an environmental imperative – Formula milk contributes to environmental degradation and climate change (Joffe et al, BMJ 2019)
  6. The cost of not breastfeeding  , Walters et al, Health Policy and Planning 2019)
  7. SMAM 2020 Action Folder : Soutenir l’allaitement pour une planète plus saine (WABA Action Folder)
  8. Breastfeeding can help tackle climate crisis but it’s on governments, not mums to save the world , Shenker N et Brown A, 7 Oct 2019.
  9. Powdered Baby Milk Formula Sold in North America: Assessing the Environmental Impact, Cadwell et al, BFM 31 July 2020.
  10. Coût – bénéfice de l’allaitement : Une nouvelle analyse montre qu’un investissement de 4,70 dollars par nouveau-né pourrait générer 300 milliards de dollars de gains économiques d’ici à 2025 OMS Communiqué de presse du 1er août 2017
  11. Dr Kepa Morgan’s “Mauri” (life force) Model https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/809-restoring-mauri-after-the-rena-disaster
  12. Sur la notion de “Kaitiakitanga” du peuple Maori de Nouvelle Zélande (protection de l’environnement, préservation des ressources, respect pour la nature) voir https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/2544-understanding-kaitiakitanga
  13. Infant Formula Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Infant Milk, Follow-on-Milk, and Others), Distribution Channel (Hypermarkets/ Supermarkets, Pharmacy/ Medical Stores, Specialty Stores, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027
  14. SMAM 1997 – Allaiter tout naturellement – Thématique allaitement et écologie, protection de la nature, voir site WABA http://worldbreastfeedingweek.net/webpages/1997.html