Mapping Inequalities in Exclusive Breastfeeding in Low- And Middle-Income Countries, 2000–2018

• Main Authors: Bhattacharjee, Natalia V, Schaeffer, Laauren E, Hay, Simon I, Amit, Arianna Maever L, Pepito, Veincent Christian F, Collaborators, Local Burden of Disease Exclusive Breastfeeding, co-authors, 477
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2021
• Subjects: Demography, Population, and Ecology; Maternal and Child Health; Maternal, Child Health and Neonatal Nursing; Public Health
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/asmph-pubs/41; https://archium.ateneo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1045&context=asmph-pubs
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF)—giving infants only breast-milk for the first 6 months of life—is a component of optimal breastfeeding practices effective in preventing child morbidity and mortality. EBF practices are known to vary by population and comparable subnational estimates of prevalence and progress across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are required for planning policy and interventions. Here we present a geospatial analysis of EBF prevalence estimates from 2000 to 2018 across 94 LMICs mapped to policy-relevant administrative units (for example, districts), quantify subnational inequalities and their changes over time, and estimate probabilities of meeting the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) of ≥70% EBF prevalence by 2030. While six LMICs are projected to meet the WHO GNT of ≥70% EBF prevalence at a national scale, only three are predicted to meet the target in all their district-level units by 2030.