In the Spring 2008 APHA MCH Section newsletter, we urged the membership to call on the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) to consider the theme of breastfeeding during emergencies in 2009.   We have just learned that the theme for World Breastfeeding Week 2009 will be Breastfeeding:  A Vital Emergency Response.  Are You Ready?  Many thanks to all MCH Section members who wrote in and helped make a difference.  World Breastfeeding Week will be held August 1-7, 2009.  For more information, go to www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org or www.waba.org.

The MCH Section has a history of successful activism in breastfeeding, including a key role in the passage of an APHA resolution in the early '80s to join the Nestle Boycott.  This major international campaign was designed to pressure Nestle to stop the inappropriate marketing of infant formula in the Third World.  The support of APHA for the Boycott was the tipping point that forced Nestle to the bargaining table.  Due to the involvement of the Association, in 1984 Nestle signed an agreement with the infant formula activists to change their marketing tactics, a major victory for the health of children worldwide.