The Community Infant and Young Child Feeding Counselling Package

Aimed for use in diverse country contexts, this package of tools guides local adaptation, design, planning and implementation of community based IYCF counselling and support services at scale. It also contains training tools to equip community workers (CWs), using an interactive and experiential adult learning approach, with relevant knowledge and skills on the recommended breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices for children from 0 up to 24 months, enhance their counselling, problem solving, negotiation and communication skills, and prepare them to effectively use the related counselling tools and job aids. To date, a large number of countries have adapted the materials to the local context, building capacity and rolling out community based IYCF counseling and communication using the package.

The Community IYCF Counselling Package includes the Facilitator Guide for use in training community workers (CWs); the Participant Materials, consisting of “handouts” and monitoring tools; a set of 24 IYCF Counselling Cards and companion Key Messages Booklet; Take-home Brochures; Planning Guide, and Adaptation Guide.