Breastfeeding is recognized as one of the most effective methods to ensure child survival and optimal health, contributing irreplaceable benefits to a child's growth and development. Breastmilk is the ideal food for infants. It is safe, clean and contains antibodies which help protect against many common childhood illnesses. It reduces the risk of acute infections such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, ear infection, Haemophilus influenzae, meningitis and urinary tract infection. This nourishment supplies all the energy and nutrients an infant requires for the first months of life and continues to provide up to half or more of a child's nutritional needs through the second year. Children who were breastfed often demonstrate better results on intelligence tests and face a reduced likelihood of developing conditions like diabetes or becoming overweight later in life. Mothers who breastfeed benefit from a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancers.

The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region works to implement the Global strategy for infant and young child feeding by protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding and timely, adequate and safe complementary feeding of infants and young children. Many countries in the Region report high rates (>60%) of early initiation of breastfeeding of infants and more than 60% of infants continue to be breastfed at one year. However, rates of exclusive breastfeeding seem to have declined, with only 40% or less of infants under six months in countries of the Region being exclusively breastfed.

WHO and UNICEF recommend that children initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of birth and be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life – meaning no other foods or liquids are provided, including water.

Infants should be breastfed on demand – that is as often as the child wants, day and night. No bottles, teats or pacifiers should be used.

From the age of 6 months, children should begin eating safe and adequate complementary foods while continuing to breastfeed for up to two years of age or beyond.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) work to accelerate global progress, setting key strategies and targets to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. The global exclusive breastfeeding rate hit 48% in 2024, prompting the 78th World Health Assembly to raise the target to at least 60% by 2030. The Global Breastfeeding Collective mobilizes coordinated political, legal, financial, and public support for breastfeeding initiatives globally. Key actions focus on creating supportive environments for mothers. This includes fully implementing the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding in maternity care facilities and improving access to skilled breastfeeding counselling throughout pregnancy and the first two years of the child's life. Significant progress has been demonstrated in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, where, with government and WHO/UNICEF support, Somalia's exclusive breastfeeding rates rose dramatically from 5.3% to 33.7% by 2022. National authorities must enact and enforce legislation that fully aligns with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. Maternity protection in the workplace is also a priority, with recommendations for at least 18 weeks of paid leave and provisions for paid breaks and facilities for expressing milk upon a mother's return to work. Increased investment in these comprehensive programmes is necessary; inadequate breastfeeding costs health care systems billions globally in treatment costs.