Kebijakan Peningkatan Pemberian ASI Eksklusif

Infant mortality rate in Indonesia (35/1000 life birth) is one of the poorest (ranked number six) among ASEAN countries. One known efficient measure for reducing the infant mortality rate is exclusive breast feeding (EBF) which in fact showing a decreasing trend (40,2% in 1997, 39,5% in 2002 and 32,0% in 2007). The objective of this article is to evaluate government policy regarding the fulfillment of child’s rights to get adequate breastfeeding. The method used is by literature review of studies about breast feeding policy and regulations in the world and in Indonesia, during the period of 2000-2007. The EBF rates in the word are varied and not related to the developmental level of the country. Japan and England are examples of developed countries with low EBF rate. Formula milk, sosio-cultural, and working women are the most reasons of the low rate of EBF. In Indonesia, the cases of malnutrition among children under five years in 1989 (75/10.000) and in 2002 (70, 3/ 10.000 showed a decreasing trend. Although the benefit of the breastfeeding is known by almost all people, but the EBF rate is still low. Meanwhile, formula milk marketing, sosio-cultural aspects, and the phenomenon of increasing number of working women do not support EBF. In Indonesia, there are only two ministry regulations (237/1997 and 450/2004) that regulated EBF. The existing policies are not strong enough to solve the problem of low EBF rate. It is suggested to improve the legal aspects including policy and regulations as well as improvement in government commitment to support EBF. Key words: Exclusive breast feeding, policy, formula milk