Joint Action PreventNCD had a major presence at IHAN 2026 Congress on Breastfeeding
This article will be included in the Healthy Living Environment Newsletter. You can subscribe here to stay updated.
At the IHAN 2026 Spanish Congress on Breastfeeding, in Sevilla (Spain), the Joint Action PreventNCD was presented as a key European strategic initiative aimed at reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) across EU Member States. With over 700 participants from Spain and Latin America, the Congress has presented how protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding might advance public health and reduce inequalities, through clinical and community action. The Joint Action PreventNCD was presented by Angela Giusti, Salomé Laredo Ortiz and María Teresa Hernández Aguilar, who are among the partners implementing the Baby-Friendly Community and Health Services initiative at national and community level.
The presentation highlighted how the Baby-Friendly Community framework offers a concrete, equity-focused pathway to reduce the burden of NCDs starting from the first 1,000 days of life. The initiative is currently being implemented across ten European countries — Italy, Spain, Norway, Greece, Slovenia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Germany, with Croatia as observer and Cyprus as external partner — spanning a wide range of settings: counties, municipalities and neighbourhoods; health and social services; educational settings; workplaces; and the digital environment. This multi-country, multi-setting approach builds environments where breastfeeding is structurally supported rather than left to individual effort, with an explicit focus on reaching those most affected by social and health inequalities. The congress provided a valuable opportunity to share progress, exchange experiences, and strengthen the collaborative networks that are central to the Joint Action's implementation strategy.
JA Prenvent NCD participants at the IHAN Breastfeeding Congress 2026
The whole event, held from 5 to 7 March 2026, combined a multidisciplinary scientific programme with conferences, workshops and the presentation of 287 research contributions, reflecting the growing evidence base in maternal and child health. The opening ceremony gathered institutional representatives from the Andalusian regional government, the Spanish Ministry of Health, the City of Seville and UNICEF Spain, reinforcing the political and social relevance of breastfeeding promotion. Beyond academia, the congress extended into the community through exhibitions, educational initiatives in schools and public awareness activities across the city.
The congress also emphasized ethical integrity, strict adherence to the International Code on the Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, and strong collaboration between scientific, institutional and civil society actors. Overall, it reinforced breastfeeding as both a public health priority and a social justice intervention, aligning closely with the goals of PreventNCD in reducing health inequalities from early life.
JA PreventNCD team on Baby Friendly Communities
Angela Giusti
Italian National Institute of Health, Italy
Salomé Laredo Ortiz and María Teresa Hernández Aguilar
Iniciativa para la Humanización de la Asistencia al Nacimiento y la Lactancia (IHAN), Spain
Healthy Living Environment Communication Officer
Lluís Pascual
Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana (Fisabio), Spain