Decades of research has shown that breastfeeding provides undeniable benefits, not only to the health of mothers and babies, but also to the economy of countries. According to the UNICEF report in August 2025, only 1 in 3 babies are exclusively breastfed during the first six months of life in Europe and Central Asia while the number is almost 1 in 2 in the rest of the world.
Turkmenistan
In 2019, the percentage of newborn children who were exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life was 56.5% (MICS 2019) which puts Turkmenistan above the global average rate of 48%. This indicator for other countries in the region are: 25.2% in Uzbekistan; 44% in Kyrgyzstan; 36% in Tajikistan; 37.8% in Kazakhstan.
If every child in the region were breastfed, a total of 3.5 million infant diarrhea cases, more than 350000 pneumonia and 70000 childhood obesity cases can be avoided while the burden of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and type 2 diabetes in mothers would be reduced by thousands (by 10000, 3000 and 50000 respectively).
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SUPPORT OUR WORKChallenges to breastfeeding in Turkmenistan
Whether a child will be breastfed is not usually up to the parental preference. The choice is influenced by a myriad of factors that stem from the economic and social systems and policies of the country. No independent study has been done on challenges breastfeeding mothers face in Turkmenistan and its economic impact.
The biggest challenges of long-term breastfeeding in Turkmenistan are driven by absence of information to assess the barriers the mothers of 43.5% of newborn children face. Specifically, by:
- Lack of breastfeeding public awareness campaigns by the government and nonprofit organizations;
- No information on quality and effective medical support in establishing breastfeeding early on;
- No information on quality and up-to-date training of health care workers that work with families;
- Inadequate support from partner or community;
- Workplaces and working conditions that are not friendly to lactating mothers;
- Role of laws and regulations around formula marketing;
- Low or no involvement of local and international organizations to educate and aid the public in achieving higher rates of breastfeeding.
