World Breastfeeding Week 2026: Impact and Learning Report

World Breastfeeding Week 2026 asked countries and institutions to move beyond awareness and strengthen what already works. For KAB, that meant taking skilled breastfeeding support into maternity wards, health-worker learning spaces, antenatal settings and community-linked services in Nairobi and Kisumu.

The week at a glance

• 7 days of coordinated action
• 10+ documented facility and community touchpoints
• 62 community health promoters trained in Kisumu
• 100+ staff reached in a follow-up CME at Coptic Hospital
• 1 immediate systems change at Kenyatta National Hospital
• 2 counties with documented field activity

What changed beyond the numbers

At Kenyatta National Hospital, KAB members and the maternity team discussed how mothers returning from theatre could start breastfeeding promptly. A bed was requested, and by day 5 it was in place. Coptic Hospital later invited KAB back for a larger CME that reached more than 100 staff.

Where KAB worked

Kenyatta National Hospital, Mbagathi Hospital, Jacaranda Maternity (Ngong Road, Ruaka and Umoja), MP Shah Hospital, Avenue Hospital Parklands, 3rd Park Hospital, Coptic Hospital, Port Florence Hospital and Lumumba Sub-County Hospital in Kisumu, the MAMATOTO Breastfeeding Walk/Run and Kisumu West community health promoters.

What the field taught us

• Consistency matters as much as access: mothers and health workers raised differing advice across shifts and facilities.
• The first 72 hours require practical, hands-on skill.
• Fathers and families can become part of the solution.

Next 12 months

KAB plans to formalise 3 to 5 anchor hospital partnerships, set up a simple monitoring dashboard, package its technical offer for hospitals and workplaces, pursue strategic funding, resource coordination fairly and publish an annual breastfeeding practice brief.

Download the full report (PDF, 20 pages) (opens in a new tab)