Cebu City – With the high response of private individuals and organizations in providing aid to families affected by the Typhoon Yolanda to the Northern Municipalities in Cebu Province and Evacuation Centers in the cities of Cebu, Lapu-lapu and Mandaue by way of giving relief goods and medical aids, it has been observed that some of the donations contain breast milk substitutes (i.e. infant milk formulas and milk products). Donations of such products in emergencies are often made without proper assessment of needs. The use of milk products and feeding bottles for feeding infants and young children can cause serious health hazards by increasing the risk of infection due to the challenges of cleaning them adequately.

Dr.Parolita A. Mission, Nutrition Program Coordinator, underscored that as a rule, breast milk substitutes should not be used in emergencies and frequent breastfeeding for children up to at least two years of age or beyond, should be encouraged. She added that during emergency situations, disease and death rates among children under-five are generally higher than for any other age group. The younger the infant, the higher the risk. Focusing on appropriate feeding of infants and young children can reduce the risk of malnutrition and mortality.

During the first six months of life, no other food or liquid is usually required to meet the nutritional requirements of an infant other than breastmilk. As these requirements change, complementary foods are subsequently needed. Under normal circumstances, infants who are not breastfed for at least six months are five times more likely to die from pneumonia and fourteen times more likely to die from diarrhea than infants who are exclusively breastfed. The valuable protection from infection and its consequences that breastmilk provides is all the more important in environments without safe water supply and sanitation.