#WBW2019 Seed Grants Project

Introduction

The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) was established in 1992 to celebrate the importance of breastfeeding and is coordinated annually by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA). WBW is officially celebrated from the 1 -7 August every year, although some countries choose to celebrate it at different times of the year. In 2018, the World Health Assembly endorsed the celebration of WBW as an opportunity to communicate the importance of breastfeeding and advocate for the protection, promotion, and support of breastfeeding everywhere.

The WBW2019 slogan “Empower parents, enable breastfeeding” champions for gender-equitable parental social protection, parent-friendly workplaces in both formal and informal sector, and parent-friendly values and gender-equitable social norms to advance breastfeeding. The campaign aims to inform people about the links between gender-equitable parental social protection and breastfeeding while anchoring parent-friendly values and equitable social norms and practices at all levels to support breastfeeding. The campaign also seeks to engage individuals and organisations to advance breastfeeding by galvanising action on gender-equitable parental social protection.

Each year, WBW engages and stimulates action among diverse stakeholders. The WBW2018 seed grant provided opportunities for small, grassroots organisations to organise independent WBW programme locally, celebrating breastfeeding as the foundation of life. We saw many creative projects that targeted a diverse range of audiences. In 2019, we are looking forward to more projects that are innovative, impactful, involve a range of stakeholders and can be replicated elsewhere. The 2019 seed grant projects must be based on the WBW2019 key action points. Read our WBW2019 Action Folder for more details on the WBW2019 key action points.

Objectives

1. Incentivise new or existing projects aligned with WBW2019 campaign’s key action points.
2. Involve a range of stakeholders with a focus on low- to middle-income countries.
3. Develop innovative best practice models that can be replicated in other settings.

Outputs

1. Tools for engaging fathers that can be adapted and used globally in breastfeeding programmes are available.
2. Trade unions and employers implement breastfeeding-friendly workplaces by establishing support facilities such as crèches, breastfeeding rooms, and flexible work hours.
3. Dialogue sessions with the government to review and improve the national policies and laws that cover maternity and parental social protection to support optimal breastfeeding held.
4. Case studies of; a) successful policy models that promote gender-equitable parenting and breastfeeding and/or, b) successful support models that promote breastfeeding in the informal economy showcased.
5. Evidence on the impact of maternity and parental protection on breastfeeding popularised and disseminated.
6. Media channels highlight gender-equitable parenting to support breastfeeding in the context of work.

Expected outcomes

1. Tools for engaging fathers that could be adapted and used globally will be used to increase fathers involvement in breastfeeding support.
2. Increase in the number of breastfeeding-friendly workplaces.
3. Case studies of successful policies and support models available for countries to adapt to their setting.
4. Availability of evidence on the positive impact of maternity and parental protection on breastfeeding that can be used by advocates for evidence-based advocacy.
5. Government pledging and enacting national laws that cover maternity and parental social protection to support optimal breastfeeding including workers in the informal economy.
6. Society sensitised to the issue of gender-equitable parenting and ways a woman can combine productive and reproductive work, including breastfeeding.

Important information

A seed grant project should be developed to achieve one or more of the above outputs, that was based on the WBW2019 key action points. Only registered organisation is eligible to apply for a seed grant. The project implementation period is a maximum of three (3) months with an additional one month reporting period (Jul-Dec 2019). An evaluation of the seed grant projects will be conducted by WABA upon project completion. The amount for each seed grant will be USD 1,000-2000 per project.

Assessment criteria

Applications will be assessed competitively using the following criteria:

• The project has a clear and attainable plan of action with a justifiable budget.
• Registered organisations/groups from low- to middle-income countries or groups working with low-income/vulnerable populations will be prioritised.
• Involvement of male and youth audiences.
• Innovation, adaptability to other settings and sustainability are crucial.

Timeframe

End-April     – Announcement

End-May      – Deadline for submission of interest through pledge

End-June     – Deadline for submission of proposals for shortlisted organisations

Mid-July      – Selection and announcement of WBW2019 Seed Grant recipients

July-Dec      – Implementation of Seed Grant Projects

Oct-Dec        – Reporting

Nov-Jan       – Evaluation