The Breastfeeding Manifesto was produced in 2006 in consultation with over twenty UK organisations working to improve awareness of the health benefits of breastfeeding and its role in reducing health inequalities.
This Manifesto has been launched for the following reasons:
- Several key organisations, including breastfeeding charities and professional bodies, were lobbying government for neccessary changes in policy and approach with regards to brestfeeding in the UK, but there was no cohesive message, no unified call to the UK Government for action.
- Despite signficant amounts of lobbying, the Department of Health still brought to an end the role of a National Infant Feeding Coordinator even though our Government in 2002 signed up to the Global Stratergy for Infant and Young Child Health which calls for a National Coordinator.
- NICE was soon to publish two key documents that could act as the back-bone of a National Breastfeeding Stratergy and it was imperative that we ensured that these action plans gained the support and resources they needed to be fully implemented.
The Breastfeeding Manifesto is being championed by David Kidney MP, Annette Brooke MP and Julie Kirkbride MP and a strong coalition of breastfeeding charities, breastfeeding co-ordinators, professional bodies, Royal Colleges etc. The Breastfeeding Manifesto Coalitions’ objective is to achieve widespread cross-party support for this document. We aim to ensure that its principles are reflected in government policy and legislation.
You can find out more and sign the manifesto at the Breastfeeding Manifesto site.
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