In 2016, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF launched two country-level initiatives to improve breastfeeding practices of infants of working mothers, in partnership with businesses operating in two distinct settings:
• Ready-made garment (RMG) factory sites located in the urban and peri-urban areas of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• A vast tea estate situated in Kericho County, Kenya.
The objective of the mother- and babyfriendly workplace initiatives is to increase working mothers’ demand for and access to facilities and services that support appropriate breastfeeding practices and care in the workplace.” In doing so, the initiatives aim to generate evidence on the operational feasibility, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of supporting breastfeeding in the workplace, and to showcase its benefits for children, families, communities and businesses. UNICEF applied the Communication for Development (C4D) process to design social and behavioural change communication strategies to increase acceptance of, and demand for, workplace breastfeeding programmes in each context.
This document presents accomplishments to date and conceptual thinking in C4D for promoting breastfeeding support in the workplace, emanating from these two experiences and building upon available evidence and lessons learned from former experiences. The document
is intended for programme planners within UNICEF as well as UNICEF partner organizations.
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