Breastfeeding in Rural Niger

As a public health nutrition and behavior change communication specialist, Naoko HORII was involved during the last 17 years in program management (participatory planning, monitoring & evaluation) and research (Operational/action research, quantitative and qualitative household and community surveys) in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia for international organisations such as FAO and UNICEF, the research institute of tuberculosis, government agencies such as Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and a JICA funded research project. The areas of expertise include vulnerability and poverty assessment, behaviour change communication, maternal and child health and nutrition, community health promotion, household food and nutrition security and infectious disease control (TB/HIV, Polio). She recently undertook a PhD program under the supervision of Professor Yves Charbit, Center for Population & Development (CEPED) and Paris Descartes University to measure the impact of a community based UNICEFprogram on early initiation of breastfeeding in rural Niger. She has published articles and presented research outcomes through international conferences while acting as an international nutrition consultant to translate scientific evidence into actions.

• 1. Why Promote Early Initiation of Breastfeeding?.- 2. Research Methods and Data Sources.- 3. State of the Art of Socio-Demographic Approaches to Breastfeeding in Sub-Saharan Africa.- 4. What Determined how Soon Mothers put their Child to the Breast after Birth in Niger.- 5. What change in Early Breastfeeding from Family and Community Perspectives in Pilot Study Areas of Niger.- Conclusions and Recommendations.