| ■ Breastfeeding Decline Linked Annually to 160,000 Deaths | 07.06.26 |
| A decline in breastfeeding is associated with the deaths of 160,000 infants each year in the Asia-Pacific region, UNICEF regional advisor Stephen Atwood said Wednesday at a breastfeeding conference in the Philippines. UNICEF told delegates that just 35 percent of infants in the Asia-Pacific region are exclusively breastfed in the first four months of life, Agence France-Presse reported. Infants less than five months old who aren't exclusively breastfed are much more likely to develop diarrhea and pneumonia, conditions that can be deadly in developing nations. UNICEF and the World Health Organization told delegates that the low prevalence of breastfeeding poses "an alarming threat to child survival" and urged Asia-Pacific leaders to do more to promote breastfeeding and to warn their citizens about "the dangers of breast milk substitutes," AFP reported. |