DG ECHO Infant and Young Children Feeding in Emergencies – A guidance for programming

Dear colleagues and partners, In March 2013, the European Commission adopted the DG ECHO Staff Working Document on 'Addressing under-nutrition in emergencies' demonstrating its increasing commitment towards nutrition. This policy document clearly acknowledges the increased vulnerability of infants, young children and lactating women and the commitment of the DG ECHO to address their specific needs during emergencies in order to preserve and nurture young lives. But providing adequate feeding and care practices is challenging in humanitarian contexts. Gaps have been identified in recent crises, with dramatic consequence on the health of these particular groups. Therefore the DG ECHO developed a guidance for Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergency (IYCF-E) programming. This guidance reminds the fundamentals of IYCF-E and provides practical tips to ensure that IYCF-E concerns are taken into account across sectors and through all the stages of humanitarian programming. In DG ECHO we believe that considering Infant and Young Children Feeding in Emergencies (IYCF-E) is not about long term behaviour change. It is about immediate practical actions to support mothers so they can breastfeed their children for as long as possible, support safe and appropriate feeding to infants who cannot be breastfed, helping careers and families to provide appropriate complementary food for children, and supporting the nutrition and well-being of the mothers. The IYCF-E – Guidance for programming is available in English and French on the DG ECHO website: here An Arabic version will be made available soon. A presentation of the guidance is also available in video format. We thank you for your partnership. Catherine Chazaly and Sophie Whitney – DG ECHO