From rhetoric to readiness

Climate change is already reshaping infant feeding realities across Southeast Asia. Heatwaves, floods, typhoons and displacement are exposing a persistent gap between what policy acknowledges and what systems are prepared to deliver.

Breastfeeding is the only infant feeding method that remains safe when water systems fail, supply chains collapse, and displacement occurs. Yet while breastfeeding is widely referenced in emergency guidance, it is still inconsistently embedded in disaster preparedness, response financing, and frontline practice. Too often, infant and young child feeding remains peripheral: activated late, under-resourced, or overridden by inappropriate emergency responses.

Climate adaptation strategies that overlook breastfeeding miss one of the region’s most resilient, zero-carbon nutrition systems.

Drawing on regional case studies and cross-sector expertise, Day 2 focuses on implementation: governance, financing, accountability and coordination. The emphasis is on what works, what doesn’t, which models are scalable, and what must change if breastfeeding is to be treated as essential climate and health infrastructure, not an optional add-on.

Dr Karleen Gribble