Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Havana, August 1st.- World Breastfeeding Week begins today and runs until August 7th, and Cuba is adding its program of activities to promote this healthy practice for the development and well-being of girls and boys.
At a press conference held in Havana, the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap, for its acronym in Spanish) of Cuba and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in this capital, announced joint initiatives aimed at promoting this act of connection between the mother and her babies, their families, and other mothers.
Both entities highlighted the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and complementary breastfeeding up to two years of age for children.
Sunny Guidotti, Deputy Representative of UNICEF in Cuba, emphasized that they are working hand in hand with Minsap in promoting this practice that provides protection and development to the baby and the mother, reduces the risk of chronic diseases, and fosters the bond between them.
She stated that it is proven that growing up with breast milk, not only in the first hour of life but exclusively for the first six months, ensures that children can have their lives saved and also develop in the best way.
World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year in these dates of August, and it is an opportunity to show the efforts and results in support of breastfeeding mothers and their children.
It also allows addressing and highlighting the gaps that limit this practice and, above all, recognizing the women who are committed to making their breastfeeding experience a unique moment.
Dr. Mercedes Esquivel, from the National Pediatrics Group (Minsap) and the Commission for Breastfeeding and Human Milk Banks, highlighted that Cuba favors a sustainable support system to promote this exercise of successful breastfeeding, from conception to the first two years of the baby's life.
She specified that this effort is supported by scientific and epidemiological data throughout the country, and affirmed that a non-breastfed baby is six times more likely to die compared to breastfed babies.
The plan of activities in salute to World Breastfeeding Week 2025 in Cuba includes a virtual scientific conference, activities to encourage women who donate breast milk and mothers who have achieved exclusive breastfeeding, awareness workshops, regional courses, and interventions in communities.
For August 7th at 4:00 p.m., local time, a concert by singer-songwriter Enid Rosales is scheduled at the National Museum of Fine Arts, where a music video about breastfeeding made by May Reguera will be presented.
On August 9th, the Quinta de los Molinos in Havana will host a party under the 2025 theme: Prioritize breastfeeding: building sustainable support systems. (Text and photo: PL)
