On May 19th the World day of Human Milk Donation was celebrated. This year the date is marked also by an important celebration in the context of Brazilian public health: 70 years of the Network of Human Milk Banks (HMB), an action initiated and managed by the National Institute for Women's, Children's and Teenagers' Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF / Fiocruz) and supported by Fiotec.
It was there at IFF / Fiocruz that, in 1943, the initiative was born which today, seven decades later, is responsible for making Brazil the world reference in technology to reduce infant mortality and the eradication of neonatal malnutrition. The consolidation of the HMB Network occurs in combination with its expansion, which is also supported by Fiotec, and results from a historical process characterized by the pursuit of quality associated with the experience and knowledge accumulated at the IFF.
Brazilian Human Milk Bank Network
The Brazilian Human Milk Bank Network (HMB Network) is World's largest and most complex, consisting of 211 human milk banks in Brazil, and hundreds operating in 24 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Iberian Peninsula and Africa.
Every year, about 150,000 liters of pasteurized human milk of certified quality are distributed to more than 135,000 newborns admitted to intensive/semi-intensive care units, involving 115,000 mothers who voluntarily participate in the donation program.
In addition, every year, more than 1 million and 350 thousand pregnant and lactating women resort to human milk banks for assisted support with breastfeeding their children.
* With information from ENSP/Fiocruz
