Evidence Based Implementation of Baby-Friendly Workplace Support Initiative and Evaluation of its potential feasibility and effectiveness on improving maternal and child nutrition and health, na

Interventions that promote breastfeeding are critical for optimal child growth, development and survival, and the wellbeing and productivity of their mothers and families, and consequently to sustainable development. Workplace support for breastfeeding is key to sustainable development as it has an impact on the wellbeing of the employees and their economic productivity, and the growth and development of their children through mothers practicing optimal breastfeeding and care practices. UNICEF has proposed a model workplace support for breastfeeding initiative in a tea plantation that can be scaled to other similar workplaces in Kenya and beyond. The initiative is aimed at building “Better Business Practices for Children” in order to minimize malnutrition in children following the signed commitment by Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) and Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) in 2010, in order to minimize malnutrition in children. The research team will conduct research in an identified tea plantation in Kericho in order to; (i) inform the design and implementation of the model workplace support for breastfeeding initiative; (ii) determine whether the intervention works by testing its operational feasibility and effectiveness on the health and wellbeing of women working in the tea plantation and their children and the women's' productivity; and (iii) assess the cost-benefit of the initiative; using a mixed methods approach. Ultimately, it is expected that the learning from this research will guide the scaling up of the workplace support initiative in Kenya and other settings in the developing world. A key anticipated product of this project will be its contribution to the development of the guidelines for workplace support in Kenya and beyond.