Over 250 Professionals Gather in Fuerteventura to Promote Breastfeeding
The General Director of Public Health for the Government of the Canary Islands, José Díaz‑Flores, and the General Director of Assistance Programs, Antonia María Pérez, inaugurated the First Canary Islands Breastfeeding Promotion Days on Friday at the Insular Auditorium of Fuerteventura.
The meeting, held in Puerto del Rosario until Saturday, brings together 250 health professionals from across the archipelago with the aim of promoting, protecting and supporting breastfeeding as a cornerstone of health, sustainability and social well‑being.
The initiative is part of the European Breastfeeding Week and reinforces collaboration between Primary Care and Hospital teams of the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS), seeking to consolidate a network of centres committed to the Humanisation of Birth and Breastfeeding Initiative (IHAN).
“Infant nutrition in the first days of life determines short‑ and long‑term health. Breastfeeding is the best food for newborns, providing the nutrients needed for growth and development, protecting them from infections, fostering neurodevelopment and reducing the risk of adult diseases such as obesity, type‑2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” explained José Díaz‑Flores.
He added that for mothers, breastfeeding “ilitates postpartum recovery, strengthens physical and emotional health and lowers the risk of certain chronic illnesses.”
Inauguration of the Days
The SCS recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby’s life, followed by continued breastfeeding on demand together with the appropriate introduction of complementary foods, in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and national and international paediatric societies.
Díaz‑Flores stressed that promoting breastfeeding is a strategic priority of his department and is included in the SCS’s Childhood Obesity Prevention Plan for children under twelve. The plan’s specific targets are to increase the rate of breastfeeding initiation at birth by 10 % and raise the six‑month continuation rate by 5 %.
Concrete actions outlined in the plan aim to foster breastfeeding in all settings, especially in municipal early‑childhood education centres and nurseries.
Environmental Sustainability
Antonia María Pérez highlighted that breastfeeding is an environmentally sustainable practice: it is a natural, renewable resource that generates no waste, thereby reducing the ecological impact associated with alternative infant feeding methods.
“For the community, it lowers health‑care costs, strengthens family and social bonds, and promotes healthy, equitable practices,” she noted.
Pérez also pointed out that choosing Fuerteventura as the venue for the first edition of the days recognises the island’s Health Area, recently honoured by the Ministry of Health for its advances in humanising and improving care for breastfeeding and maternal‑infant health. The island has become the first in the archipelago to reach phase 4D of the IHAN‑UNICEF project across all its health centres.
“To keep breastfeeding strong over time, it is essential to promote spaces like these days, which provide continuous support, information and community‑based assistance, strengthening systems that guarantee its continuity,” she added.
Content of the Days
The inaugural conference was delivered by Miriam Triana Junco, paediatrician at the General Directorate of Public Health of the Ministry of Health, with the presentation “Roadmap for Promotion, Protection and Support of Breastfeeding.”
The Thursday‑and‑Friday programme includes training workshops, debate tables and keynote lectures that examine breastfeeding from health, emotional, social and environmental perspectives. Topics covered include:
- Breastfeeding in hospitalised infants
- Perinatal mental health
- Introduction of complementary feeding
- Breastfeeding as a public‑health preventive strategy
- Emotional well‑being during the breastfeeding process
- The value of IHAN within the health system
- The complexity of double insularity for non‑capital islands
The closing session will be led by Marieta Fernández, professor at the University of Granada, with the lecture “Prioritise Breastfeeding by Building Sustainable Support Systems.”
During the final ceremony, the “Fuerteventura Island IHAN Awards” will be presented to professionals and entities committed to breastfeeding. The awards will be handed out in the presence of:
- Dolores Alicia García, President of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura
- María Luisa Naranjo, Manager of the Fuerteventura Health Services Directorate
- Rosa Gloria Suárez, President of UNICEF Canary Islands
- Salomé Laredo, President of IHAN
The event underscores the commitment of the Health Ministry and the eight islands to maternal‑infant health, health equity and environmental sustainability, fostering breastfeeding‑friendly environments where mothers, families and professionals can move forward together within a framework of support, respect and accompaniment.