Explore how Child.org is transforming breastfeeding practices in Garissa through Pregnant Women Groups, male engagement, community dialogues and community health outreaches empowering mothers to give their babies the healthiest start.
World Breastfeeding Week 2025 is a timely reminder of how powerful and yet vulnerable breastfeeding can be in underserved communities. Breastfeeding provides the best possible nutritional start to a baby’s life and can save lives. But it is often derailed by climate stress, misinformation and lack of support.
In Garissa County, the story of breastfeeding is deeply shaped by climate realities, social norms and systemic health barriers. But it’s also a story of hope and of how informed, empowered communities can change the tide.
Challenge landscape for breastfeeding: climate & culture
In Garissa, Kenya 66% of mothers delay breastfeeding beyond two hours after delivery, missing the “golden hour”. Early initiation of breastfeeding offers critical health benefits, including reducing a newborn’s risk of death by up to 20%.
Why does this happen?
It’s not because mothers don’t care, it’s because of a mix of challenges:
- Climate stress: Temperatures often rise above 35°C in Garissa. Excess heat increases the risk of maternal dehydration and fatigue, making breastfeeding more difficult. Additionally, long distances to health facilities in high temperatures make accessing timely care and counselling difficult.
- Cultural beliefs: Colostrum is often discarded as “dirty,” and premature babies are fed cow’s milk mixed with cooking oil in hopes of gaining weight.
- Influence of others: In many Somali households, a mother rarely decides alone. Elders, spouses, even neighbours play a big role in infant feeding choices.
Together, these challenges contribute to low rates of exclusive breastfeeding, especially among adolescent and rural mothers.
Our response: a community-first approach
At Child.org, we’ve learned that to support breastfeeding, we must support the full ecosystem around a mother. That’s why our work in Garissa is rooted in local voices, accessible services and cultural sensitivity. Here’s how:
Pregnant Women’s Groups (PWGs)
We bring together pregnant women in safe spaces where they learn about:
- Early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding
- Maternal danger signs and nutrition
- Postnatal care and emotional support
In Garissa, PWGs are designed to complement Antenatal Care (ANC) services. By integrating health messaging with routine ANC touchpoints, PWGs ensure that mothers not only receive essential information but are also linked to care early. By offering both support and services in one setting, we’re making maternal care more accessible and sustainable for the women who need it most. It also reduces long distance travel causing excess dehydration and fatigue.
Team Dad
Recognizing the strong role male partners play in decision-making, Team Dad forums invite men into the conversation around maternal and newborn health. We engage them early so they become advocates, not bystanders.
Among other conversations in these forums, men also learn about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, complementary feeding and the critical support mothers need throughout the process. Equipped with this knowledge, they are empowered to advocate for optimal infant feeding practices and to offer practical, emotional and social support to their partners.
Community dialogues
We host open, respectful discussions with elders, community leaders, religious leaders like imams and community members. These conversations are never about replacing culture, but rather understanding it deeply, acknowledging the value of traditional wisdom and aligning it with modern, evidence-based practices.
Common myths we address include beliefs like “colostrum is dirty” or that “Babies need cow’s milk mixed with cooking oil to increase weight gain”; misconceptions that can delay early initiation of breastfeeding or lead to harmful supplementation.
In Garissa, where many births still happen with Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), these myths are further compounded by the lack of skilled providers who would otherwise guide immediate breastfeeding after birth. The result is often a missed opportunity to initiate breastfeeding within the first hour, a critical window for both baby and mother.
Through inclusive dialogues that involve entire communities, we’re able to share these key insights and build understanding around practices that save lives. When everyone is part of the conversation, change doesn’t feel forced, it feels possible.
Community Health Outreaches
Because we work in close collaboration with local health management teams, our outreach model is designed to be holistic, providing not just education but actual lifesaving maternal and child health (MCH) services that mothers and babies in underserved communities urgently need.
Access is at the heart of this model. In regions like Garissa, where temperatures regularly soar above 35°C, women often walk long distances in extreme heat to reach care. These exhausting journeys increase the risk of dehydration and fatigue, which can directly affect breast milk production and the ability to breastfeed effectively.
In Narok County, our integrated health outreaches provide pregnant women with antenatal care, breastfeeding counselling and immunization services all in one visit. This kind of layered, community-based care strengthens the continuum of maternal and newborn health and reduces the burden of travel on mothers.
As we expand our programming in Garissa, these community health outreaches are part of our planned interventions not just to increase access but to help women conserve energy, stay hydrated and receive timely breastfeeding support.
A new narrative is forming
In Garissa, where extreme heat, long travel distances and deeply rooted cultural beliefs challenge optimal breastfeeding, early initiation remains a critical gap with ⅔ of mothers delaying breastfeeding beyond two hours after birth. But that’s exactly where change is taking root.
Through Pregnant Women’s Groups, we’re building women’s knowledge and confidence. With Team Dad forums, we’re inviting men into the conversation. Through community dialogues with elders and religious leaders, we’re gently shifting norms. By collaborating with local health management teams, we’re planning outreach services that bring lifesaving care including breastfeeding support directly into underserved communities.
Step by step, we’re helping mothers in Garissa breastfeed earlier, more confidently and with the support they deserve. Because breastfeeding is not just a personal act: it’s a public health priority.