Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding among infants 0–5 months of age in Latin America and the Caribbean by subregion
Download: https://doi.org/10.4060/CC8514EN-fig20
Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life has many benefits for the infant and the mother. One of the main benefits is its capacity to protect the infant against gastrointestinal infections. It is important to note that this benefit is not limited to low-income countries, but it has also been observed in high-income countries (WHO, 2021). Breastfeeding is one of the most powerful practices for promoting child survival and well-being, as it protects against life-threatening and chronic illnesses, while promoting healthy growth, adequate child development and healthy brain development (UNICEF, 2018; WHO, 2021).
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding among infants 0–5 months of age was 42.6 percent in 2021, below the global estimate of 47.7 percent. When looking at each subregion, South America showed the highest prevalence at 46.8 percent, followed by Mesoamerica at 37.7 percent and the Caribbean with 31.4 percent. Even though the region was below the world estimate, significant improvements have been achieved in this indicator since 2012. Mesoamerica has made the most progress, with the prevalence increasing by 16 percentage points, while in South America it rose by 4.6 percentage points and in the Caribbean by 2 percentage points (FIGURE 20).
2012 | 2021 | |
World | 37.0 | 47.7 |
Latin America and the Caribbean | 34.3 | 42.6 |
Caribbean | 29.4 | 31.4 |
Mesoamerica | 21.7 | 37.7 |
South America | 42.2 | 46.8 |
FIGURE 2113 shows that the countries in the region with the highest prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding among infants 0–5 months of age were Peru (63.9 percent), the Plurinational State of Bolivia (55.7 percent) and Guatemala (53.2 percent). The countries that have shown improvements, according to their latest available data and during different time periods,14 include Belize, where the prevalence increased by 23.9 percentage points between 2006 and 2015, followed by Mexico (21.5 percentage points between 2012 and 2021), the Plurinational State of Bolivia (17.1 percentage points between 2000 and 2016), Haiti (16.9 percentage points between 2000 and 2017), and Colombia (11.6 percentage points between 2000 and 2016). By contrast, some countries showed reductions in this indicator, including Cuba (0.6 percentage point between 2000 and 2019), Peru (2.7 percentage points between 2000 and 2021), Honduras (4.7 percentage points between 2001 and 2019) and Costa Rica (7.2 percentage points between 2011 and 2018). 13 See Table 27 in Annex I. 14 This analysis includes different periods for each country, according to the latest information available.