World Breastfeeding Week 2021

Protect Breastfeeding:
A Shared Responsibility

WBW2021 Seed Grant Program

The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) is offering WBW2021 seed grants of up to USD1,000 for organisations to carry out activities aligned with the WBW2021 key actions. We seek projects that are innovative, impactful, involve a range of stakeholders and can be replicated elsewhere. We look forward to receiving your pledge and application!

Follow the steps below to submit your application

World Breastfeeding Week 2021 Seed Grant Program Concept Note

Introduction

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is an essential avenue to champion breastfeeding right and create awareness on current issues relating to breastfeeding. Since its inception in 1992, WBW and its themes have been celebrated globally. Since 2016, WBW themes have been aligned to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals to highlight the importance of improving breastfeeding practices to achieve a sustainable and equal future and leaving no one behind. WBW2021 showcases evidence on the need to involve all levels of society in a public health approach to protect and support breastfeeding. The theme of WBW2021 “Protect breastfeeding: a shared responsibility” calls upon all levels of society to work together in creating a warm chain of support for the breastfeeding dyad.

The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and its subsequent resolutions (the Code) is an important tool to protect and support breastfeeding. The Code aims to eliminate the inappropriate and harmful marketing of infant formula, bottles and teats. 2021 is the 40th anniversary of the Code. Countries must implement, monitor and enforce the Code and advocates must rally to ensure the governments take the necessary steps.

The WABA WBW Seed Grant program started in 2018 and aims to amplify each year’s WBW theme at the grassroot level. WABA is pleased to announce the WBW2021 Seed Grant program. The program provides a small fund for organisations to conduct a seed project that will evolve to sustainable, replicable, scalable and impactful activities. The program involves a range of stakeholders and focuses on attainable results to improve breastfeeding practices. In accordance with the WBW2021 theme, few seed grants of up to USD1,000.00 will be awarded to organise local activities that relate to possible actions to celebrate and take actions based on the Code locally as listed below.

Objectives

Incentivise impactful activities aligned with WBW2021 theme and actions.
Involve a range of stakeholders with a focus on low- to middle-income countries.
Develop innovative best practice models that can be replicated in other settings.

Possible Actions

Listed below are some key actions from the WBW2021 Action Folder that you may choose from for your seed grant project.

Advocate to the government to implement, monitor and strengthen enforcement of the national Code legislation.
Encourage health systems and workplaces to become breastfeeding-friendly and Code compliant.
Create a user-friendly effective system to report Code violations and encourage the local community to report violations to the relevant authorities.
Raise awareness among community breastfeeding groups and the public on the Code and how to monitor it.
If you have any other ideas for actions related to the WBW 2021 theme you may propose them.

Important Information

A seed grant project should be developed to achieve one or more of the above actions. Only registered organisations/groups are eligible to apply for a seed grant. Low and middle-income countries/ vulnerable populations will be prioritised. The project implementation period is a maximum of three (3) months with an additional one-month reporting period. The project implementation period is between September 2021 to November 2021. An evaluation of the seed grant projects may be conducted by WABA upon project completion. The amount for each seed grant will be USD 1,000 per project.

Assessment Criteria

Project applications will be assessed competitively using the following criteria:

Have a clear and attainable plan of action with a justifiable budget.
Have a clear strategy to engage relevant stakeholders including youth audiences.
Demonstrate innovative and creative ideas for physical or online activities to engage target audiences.
Exhibit potential for sustainability and adaptability to other settings.

Program Timeframe

2 August 2021 – Announcement

14 August 2021 – Deadline for online application

20 August 2021 – Announcement of shortlisted applicants

27 August 2021 – Deadline for submission of proposals for shortlisted applicants

2 September 2021 – Selection and announcement of WBW2021 Seed Grant recipients

September – November 2021 – Implementation of WBW2021 Seed Grant Projects

November – December 2021 – Reporting

December 2021 – January 2022 – Evaluations

For further information, contact [email protected]

WABA funding policy

WABA does not accept funds or gifts from manufacturers or distributors of breastmilk substitutes, related equipment such as feeding bottles and teats and/or complementary foods. WABA encourages all participants of World Breastfeeding Week to respect and follow this ethical stance.

Use the following hashtags in all your social media interaction:

#WBW2021 #WABA #ProtectBreastfeeding #SharedResponsibility #breastfeeding #SDGs #worldbreastfeedingweek2021 #ProtectBreastfeedingaSharedResponsibility #protectbreastfeedingtogether #buildingbackbetter #warmchain4breastfeeding #breastfeeding4publichealth

World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) is a global network of individuals and organisations dedicated to the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding worldwide based on the Innocenti Declarations, the Ten Links for Nurturing the Future and the WHO/UNICEF Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding. WABA is in consultative status with UNICEF and an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC). WABA coordinates the annual World Breastfeeding Week campaign.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: WABA asserts all legal rights and intellectual property rights under the Berne Convention over the World Breastfeeding Week Logos and Campaign Materials. This copyright is subject to fair use, with appropriate attribution to WABA. The logos and materials shall not be used in any way that directly or indirectly damages WABA’s reputation and/or standing, whether by content, context or association. Prior written consent shall always be sought before the logos and materials are used in any commercial activity or adaptations/modifications are made (email to [email protected]). The logos and materials shall not be used in any event and/or activity sponsored, supported or organised by companies manufacturing, distributing or marketing breastmilk substitutes, feeding bottles, or teats. See FAQ on https://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/frequently-asked-questions-faq/ for further information.