Health Campaign

World Breastfeeding Week

August 1 – 7, 2026 Recurs yearly

Mother breastfeeding her newborn while family and community members provide practical support, representing the supportive environment needed for successful breastfeeding.

2026 Theme

Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works

Golden Bow with a mother & child symbol around the knot, representing World Breastfeeding Week

Campaign Representation

Officially represented by the Composite Icon Symbol.

Campaign Description

A focused global campaign advocating for stronger policies, laws, and community support to enable breastfeeding in workplaces, public spaces, and during emergencies.

Theme Focus

The 2026 theme shifts the emphasis from simply identifying effective breastfeeding interventions to strengthening and scaling the approaches that are already known to work. The campaign highlights the need for sustained investment in health systems, communities, workplaces, policies and families so that mothers receive consistent support throughout the breastfeeding journey.

Key Priorities

  • Strengthening breastfeeding support within health systems
  • Skilled breastfeeding counselling and education
  • Community-based counselling and peer support
  • Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative and the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding
  • Support during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period
  • Paid maternity leave and breastfeeding-friendly workplaces
  • Protection from inappropriate marketing of breast-milk substitutes
  • Strong implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes
  • Support for breastfeeding during humanitarian and fragile situations
  • Better monitoring and evaluation of breastfeeding programmes
  • Scaling interventions with demonstrated effectiveness
  • Creating supportive environments for mothers and families
  • Sustained investment in breastfeeding as a public-health intervention

Key Concepts

  • Breastfeeding
  • Exclusive breastfeeding
  • Infant and young child feeding
  • Breast milk
  • Complementary feeding
  • Lactation
  • Breastfeeding support
  • Breastfeeding counselling
  • Maternal health
  • Infant health
  • Newborn health
  • Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative
  • Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding
  • Breastfeeding-friendly workplace
  • International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes
  • Child survival
  • Early childhood development

Campaign Resources & Support

View Awareness Calendar