Healthier Together series shows Fiocruz's work in the Global Network of Human Milk Banks

In this week dedicated to the donation of human milk, the series Healthier Together – A Path to a Better World, developed in consultation with the WHO Foundation and produced for them by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions and presented by Fiocruz, has one of its films dedicated to the Global Network of Human Milk Banks, an initiative that has the Brazilian Foundation involved in its creation and expansion. In mini-documentary style, Healthier Together explores the challenges facing healthcare and how people can collaborate to find solutions to common problems. It will be promoted in Geneva, in parallel with the World Health Assembly.

Divided into Risk Factors, Mental Health, Preventive Measures and Fair Treatment, the series show cases initiatives that have been developed in countries such as Japan, India, Nigeria, Philippines, Kenya, Tanzania, Pakistan and Ghana, among others. In Risk Factors, the film Human milk banks feeding babies, in which Fiocruz participates, shows how an initiative launched by the Fernandes Figueira National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescent Health (IFF/Fiocruz) more than 80 years ago became the embryo of the Brazilian Network of Human Milk Banks.

"The Human Milk Bank Network represents one of the most precious expressions of human solidarity, providing vital nourishment for premature babies and those in vulnerable situations. The Fernandes Figueira Institute (IFF/Fiocruz) has been a global reference in promoting maternal and child health, playing a pioneering and fundamental role in the conception, development, and expansion of Milk Banks in Brazil and in countries across Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa”, says Mario Moreira, president of Fiocruz. “Therefore, I feel immensely proud to see this story being told and disseminated in this mini-documentary."

In Brazil, Law No. 13,227/2015 established the National Human Milk Donation Day and Week, to be celebrated on May 19, annually, with the objectives of encouraging the donation of breast milk; promote debates about the importance of breastfeeding and human milk donation.

The WHO Foundation highlights the importance of sharing solutions. “Climate change, natural disasters, conflicts and spiralling healthcare costs disproportionately impact the health of millions worldwide. The path to a healthier world is tackling health inequities with innovation, new technologies, and tailored community-centred solutions. This isn’t just a moral imperative; it's essential for thriving societies, everywhere,” says WHO Foundation President Anil Soni. “We are delighted to launch the Healthier Together series, which spotlights health solutions from private, public, and non-profit champions, as a collaborative force committed to empowering the health of communities worldwide.”

From beneficiary to donor

The film is based on the story of nurse Viviane Pacheco. Born in the 70s, Viviane could not be breastfed by her mother and developed a reaction to formula milk. It was a human milk bank that allowed her to survive. Later, she became a neonatal ICU nurse and had Fiocruz researcher João Aprígio Guerra de Almeida as her advisor, and the beneficiary became a human milk donor when she had her two children. Today, Viviane works to raise awareness of the importance of donating human milk.

Baby at Fernandes Figueira Institute (IFF/Fiocruz)

“My whole life could happen because back then I had this human milk to help me throughout my growth and development. It’s my life’s mission,” says Viviane in the film. “Human milk is made from mother to baby. Even in the first week, colostrum is extremely important. It will meet all the baby’s needs”, she adds. In Brazil, around 3.5 million children benefited from human milk banks from 2000 to 2023.

João Aprígio is behind the expansion of the Brazilian Network of Human Milk Banks, as well as the Latin American Network, the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries Network and Global Network. Today, he is the coordinator of the Global Network of Human Milk Banks, in a work that began at the Fernandes Figueira National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescent Health (IFF/Fiocruz) in the 1980s. In 1985, Human Milk Banks became a Public Health issue in Brazil, and the network began to be created. The initiative drew attention in 2001, when the World Health Organization (WHO) considered the Brazilian Network of Human Milk Banks (rBLH-BR) as the action that most contributed to reducing infant mortality in the 1990s. In 1998, all banks were integrated into a national network.

Fiocruz participates in the 1st Congress of Human Milk Banks of the CPLP

Partnerships with other countries began, and Brazil became one of the leaders of international movements in favor of breastfeeding and the donation of human milk, in a joint work between Fiocruz and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC). “In 2005, we brought together a dozen Latin American countries, where each one committed, within its perspective, to building human milk banks as a solution, just as Brazil did”, says João. The Latin American Network began.

João Aprígio visited all the countries where the network was implemented, helping with its development. In recognition of his work, he received the Sasakawa Award for Health in 2001 and the Dr. Lee Jong-wook Memorial Award for Public Health in 2020. Today, the Global Network of Human Milk Banks comprises 31 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa, the film shows, and should expand with the increase in Fiocruz's presence on that continent and the support of the African Union.

“In the beginning, to pasteurize human milk, we had to import equipment from the United States, and this costs US$25,000. So we adapted the technology to use water bath equipment, which are ultra-thermostatic water baths, manufactured and sold in Brazil for US$ 1,500”, highlights João, a process filmed at IFF/Fiocruz itself. The lower cost facilitated the adoption of the technique by other countries. “Our main mission is to expand the space for sharing scientific, technological and cultural knowledge about the practice of breastfeeding and human milk banks. Make human milk banks become breastfeeding support centers. Any and all women who have doubts, who have difficulties, or who want information and guidance on breastfeeding their child can find this at a milk bank without any obligation to donate that milk”, he adds in the film.

Healthier Together

Healthier Together is a online branded series, developed in consultation with the WHO Foundation and produced for them (or for partners) by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions, which is the commercial content division of BBC Studios. The series explores health challenges and opportunities across the world, spanning cities and villages, hospitals and homes, as people collaborate to achieve the common goal of health for all. Addressing health inequity and closing gaps in healthcare provision calls for worldwide collaboration.

WHO Foundation

Founded in 2021, the WHO Foundation is an independent Swiss foundation affiliated with, but independent of, WHO to marshal new resources from philanthropists, foundations, businesses, and individuals to support its mission: promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable.