<br><span class="gmail_quote">From: <b class="gmail_sendername">WABA</b> <a href="mailto:waba@streamyx.com">waba@streamyx.com</a><br></span>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The Secretariat is pleased to announce the relaunch of the WABA website! The Information/Communication team have spent months designing a new look and updating the information for the website to make it more appealing and involving for the network. We hope that you will visit <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.waba.org.my/" target="_blank">www.waba.org.my</a> and participate more pro-actively in contributing your news and relevant updates for the website. </p>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">A few highlights for the year:</p>
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<li style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Preparations for the World Breastfeeding Week 2008 on <i>Mother Support: Going for the Gold</i> are well underway. The calendar announcement is out; the photo contest is attracting quite a few photos and there is still more activities planned for the countdown to the Week, including the video contest and "virtual torch run". We continue to look forward to your participation in the myriads of ways witnessed from community to global level activities! <br>
<li style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Over the past year, WABA has focused on developing its Strategic Plan with the Core Partners (CPs) (ABM, IBFAN, ILCA, LLLI and Wellstart International) and had yet another productive Global Breastfeeding Partners' Meeting (GBPM) VI in Sept. 2007. The meeting resulted in defining clear areas of collaboration among the international organisations. Some of these include:<span> </span></li>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in"><font size="1"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings"><span>l<span> </span></span></span>continued involvement in World Breastfeeding Week and other social mobilisation activities; </font></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 57pt; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in"><font size="1"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings"><span>l<span> </span></span></span>joint and/or coordinated advocacy strategies on various key issues (mother support, women and work, HIV, birthing, BFHI), including through a Rapid Response System;</font></p>
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<li style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Prosperity is a particularly important theme this year when we move from one project cycle to another. The new WABA Strategic Plan has recently begun and runs from 2008 – 2012. There is some new programme focus, especially in the area of capacity building and e-activism, and new systems to be put in place at the Secretariat. Starting from last year the WABA Secretariat has been focusing on sowing the harvest for the new cycle and continues to do so. (Raising new funds for breastfeeding work continues to be a challenge but we stay hopeful!)<br>
<li style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">We had the pleasure of working with ILCA's Senior Fellow, Sue Saunders, in Penang for over 2 months (Sept-Nov) helping to develop WABA's capacity building programme. She compiled the list of training courses globally, did several trainings of local mother support and spoke at major electronics factories, etc. to mention some of the activities. We look forward to the next ILCA Fellow as well as to new ones from the other organisations. <br>
<li style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Some of the key issues of concerns for 2008 and beyond brought up by the GBPM VI and which needs addressing by the network at large are:</li></li></li></ol>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in"><font size="1"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings"><span>l<span> </span></span></span>corporate globalisation and its negative impact on breastfeeding and optimal IYCF;</font></p>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in">All the CPs have agreed that these issues are of concern and will be developing position papers to share with the network in the near future.</p>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The Secretariat will be keeping you posted on further developments in our programmes and policies in this new cycle from time to time. </p>
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<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">We look forward to continued collaboration with our Core Partners and to on-going work with all endorsers and friends of the network. </p>
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