Dataset Information

Human milk banks in the response to COVID-19: a statement of the regional human milk bank network for Southeast Asia and beyond.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations on infant feeding in the context of COVID-19 uphold standing recommendations for breastfeeding, non-separation, and skin-to-skin contact, including the use of donor human milk when mother's own milk is not available. INSUFFICIENT GUIDANCE ON THE USE OF DONOR HUMAN MILK AND THE ROLE OF HUMAN MILK BANKS IN THE PANDEMIC RESPONSE: COVID-19 clinical management guidelines in seven countries in Southeast Asia are not aligned with WHO recommendations despite the lack of evidence of transmission through either breastmilk or breastfeeding. The use of safe donor human milk accessed through human milk banks is also insufficiently recommended, even in countries with an existing human milk bank, leading to a gap in evidence-based management of COVID-19. This highlights long-standing challenges as well as opportunities in the safe, equitable, and resilient implementation of human milk banks in the region.

Conclusions

This statement reflects the expert opinion of the Regional Human Milk Bank Network for Southeast Asia and Beyond on the need to revisit national guidelines based on the best evidence for breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic, to incorporate human milk bank services in national obstetric and newborn care guidelines for COVID-19 where possible, and to ensure that operations of human milk banks are adapted to meet the needs of the current pandemic and to sustain donor human milk supply in the long-term. The Network also recommends sustained engagement with the global human milk bank community.

SUBMITTER: Olonan-Jusi E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8006108 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundThe role played by regional organisations in climate change adaptation and health is growing in Southeast Asia, with the Asian Development Bank and the Asia-Pacific Regional Forum on Health and Environment both supporting health and adaptation initiatives. There is, however, a lack of empirical research on the value that regional organisations add to national health-related adaptation. This qualitative research compares regional project and governance-based models of adaptation and health support in Southeast Asia, providing an analysis of strengths and weaknesses of each, as well as possibilities for improvement.MethodsAn existing adaptation assessment framework was modified for this research, and used as a guide to gather and analyse data from academic and grey literature, policy documents and interviews in order to qualitatively assess two organisations and their different models of adaptation and health support.ResultsThis research found differing strengths in the approaches to climate change and health used by the Asian Development Bank and by the Asia-Pacific Regional Forum on Health and Environment. The regional forum has vision, high levels of perceived legitimacy, and access to 'in-house' expertise in public health and climate change. Conversely, the Asian Development Bank has strengths in project management and access to significant financial resources to support work in climate change and health.ConclusionWhen regional organisations, such as the Asian Development Bank and the Asia-Pacific Regional Forum on Health and Environment, have membership and mandate overlaps, their work will likely benefit from well designed, institutionalised and incentivised coordination mechanisms. Coordination can reduce redundancies as well as the administrative workload on partner government agencies. In the case-study examined, the Asian Development Bank's project management expertise complements the vision and high levels of perceived legitimacy of the Asia-Pacific Regional Forum on Health and Environment, thus a coordinated approach could deliver improved adaptation and health outcomes.

Dataset Information

Human milk banks in the response to COVID-19: a statement of the regional human milk bank network for Southeast Asia and beyond.

Background

Conclusions

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