Training and Program Delivery

Scaling-up of breastfeeding programs and initiatives cannot be effective without wide reaching, standardized training programs that educate health care students, providers, and breastfeeding support staff on breastfeeding best practices.

• Successful breastfeeding programs require that all care providers working in facility-based or community-based programs serving women and children must be trained.
• Curricula taught to those who interact with mothers during pregnancy and the postpartum period must include education on the basic attitudes, knowledge and skills necessary to integrate breastfeeding counseling and lactation management into their care.
• Program delivery must be present at all levels of health care, including facility-based and community-based programs.

The benchmarks for this gear evaluate the quality and coverage of training and facility/community-based program delivery. This gear has nine themes:

Improving workforce capacity through training

• Pre-service training for health care providers (1 benchmark - TPDG1)
• In-service training for facility-based health care providers (2 benchmarks - TPDG2, TPDG3)
• In-service training for community-based health care providers (2 benchmarks - TPDG4, TPDG5)
• In-service training for community health workers (2 benchmarks - TPDG6, TPDG7)
• Train the trainers (1 benchmark - TPDG8)
• Coordination and integration of breastfeeding training programs (2 benchmarks - TPDG9, TBDG10)

Coverage and quality of breastfeeding program delivery

• Facility-based delivery (5 benchmarks - TPDG11, TPDG12, TPDG13, TPDG14, TPDG15)
• Community-based delivery (1 benchmark - TPDG16)
• Supervision (1 benchmark - TPDG17).

All benchmarks reference “the past year” unless otherwise noted.

• Training and Program Delivery Gear Scoring Pathways
• Training and Program Delivery Gear