CD29.R21    The Directing Council,

 Recognizing that there is a close interrelationship between infant and young child nutrition and socioeconomic development;

 Concerned that inappropriate feeding practices of infants and young children result in greater incidence of infant mortality, malnutrition, and disease, especially in conditions of poverty and poor hygiene;

 Conscious that breastfeeding is the ideal method of infant feeding during the first months of life and should be promoted and protected in all countries;

 Convinced that Member Governments have important responsibilities and a fundamental role to play in the promotion of good nutrition and in the protection of breastfeeding and sound weaning practices as a means of improving infant and young child health; and

 Recalling Resolution WHA33.321 on Infant and Young Child Feeding and Resolution WHA34.222 adopting the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes,

1. To urge all Member Governments to:

a) Give full support to their implementation of the recommendations made by the Joint WHO/UNICEF Meeting on Infant and Young Child Feeding (1979), and on the encouragement and support of breastfeeding; the promotion and support of appropriate weaning practices; the strengthening of education, training, and information; the promotion of the health and social status of women; and the appropriate marketing and distribution of breast-milk substitutes;

b) Give renewed attention to the need for adopting national legislation, regulations, or other suitable measures to respond to the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, and the monitoring of compliance with the Code;

c) Involve all concerned social and economic sectors, nongovernmental agencies, academic institutions, professional associations, and the community as a whole in the implementation of concerted actions for the improvement of infant and young child nutrition, particularly in low-income groups of rural and periurban populations;

d) Give the highest priority to establishing effective systems of ensuring adequate food supplies to infants and young children

2. To request the Director to:

a) Continue full support and cooperation with Member Governments in the design, implementation, and evaluation of national programs for the improvement of infant and young child feeding and maternal nutrition;

b) Give all possible assistance to Member Governments, as and when requested, for the implementation of the International Code, particularly in the preparation of national legislation and regulations related to this matter;

c) Intensify activities in the field of health and nutrition education and in training and information on infant and young child feeding, in particular through primary health care services;

d) Support national studies regarding infant and young child feeding practices, particularly with regard to the prevalence and duration of breastfeeding;

e) Strengthen coordination with other international and bilateral agencies for the mobilization of financial and technical resources in support of national food and nutrition programs;

f) Encourage research within this Region among diverse communities to establish the nutritional requirements of infants at different stages of growth, especially to determine locally the optimum age for weaning and to identify resources available to combat undernutrition before it becomes established.