Strengthening What Works: Lessons from Community-Led Breastfeeding Support in Uganda

Breastfeeding is one of the most effective and low-cost interventions for improving child survival, health and nutrition. Yet in Uganda, one in five children under two is given something other than breast milk during the first three days of life, at a time when their digestive and immune systems are still developing.

This learning brief explores how community-led approaches implemented through the CASCADE project are helping to strengthen breastfeeding practices in Uganda’s Acholi, Tooro and Karamoja sub-regions. It examines what has worked, the results achieved and the lessons that can inform the replication and scale-up of effective breastfeeding support beyond CASCADE-supported districts.

The brief draws on structured reporting from CASCADE implementing partners, including Food Rights Alliance and Africa Innovations Institute, working in the Acholi and Tooro sub-regions, and the Kyenjojo Association of Women Development Actors, working in Kyenjojo District. Their experiences provide practical insights into how community-based interventions can strengthen knowledge, support mothers and caregivers, and create an enabling environment for improved breastfeeding practices.

Aligned with this year’s World Breastfeeding Week theme, “Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works,” the brief identifies evidence-based approaches that CASCADE has found to be effective and considers what is needed to sustain and expand them. It aims to help national and district stakeholders understand what is already working, identify opportunities for adaptation in non-CASCADE districts, and translate these lessons into stronger policy, programming and practice.

📥Download the full learning brief below to explore the findings, lessons and recommendations.