Mapping exclusive breastfeeding in Africa between 2000 and 2017.

ABSTRACT: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF)-giving infants only breast-milk (and medications, oral rehydration salts and vitamins as needed) with no additional food or drink for their first six months of life-is one of the most effective strategies for preventing child mortality^1-4. Despite these advantages, only 37% of infants under 6 months of age in Africa were exclusively breastfed in 2017⁵, and the practice of EBF varies by population. Here, we present a fine-scale geospatial analysis of EBF prevalence and trends in 49 African countries from 2000-2017, providing policy-relevant administrative- and national-level estimates. Previous national-level analyses found that most countries will not meet the World Health Organization's Global Nutrition Target of 50% EBF prevalence by 20

SUBMITTER: Bhattacharjee NV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6749549 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature