Mapping inequalities in exclusive breastfeeding in low- and middle-income countries, 2000–2018
Authors: Bhattacharjee Natalia V. , Schaeffer Lauren E. , Hay Simon I. ,   Local Burden of Disease Exclusive Breastfeeding Collaborators, Lu Dan , Schipp Megan F. , Lazzar-Atwood Alice , Donkers Katie M. , Abady Gdiom Gebreheat , Abd-Allah Foad , Abdelalim Ahmed , Abebo Zeleke Hailemariam , Abejie Ayenew Negesse , Abosetugn Akine Eshete , Abreu Lucas Guimarães , Abrigo Michael R. M. , Abu-Gharbieh Eman , Abushouk Abdelrahman I. , Adamu Aishatu L. , Adedeji Isaac Akinkunmi , Adegbosin Adeyinka Emmanuel , Adekanmbi Victor , Adetokunboh Olatunji O. , Agudelo-Botero Marcela , Aji Budi , Akinyemi Oluwaseun Oladapo , Alamneh Alehegn Aderaw , Alanezi Fahad Mashhour , Alanzi Turki M. , Albright James , Alcalde-Rabanal Jacqueline Elizabeth , Alemu Biresaw Wassihun , Alhassan Robert Kaba , Ali Beriwan Abdulqadir , Ali Saqib , Alinia Cyrus , Alipour Vahid , Amit Arianna Maever L. , Amugsi Dickson A. , Anbesu Etsay Woldu , Ancuceanu Robert , Anjomshoa Mina , Ansari Fereshteh , Antonio Carl Abelardo T. , Anvari Davood , Arabloo Jalal , Arora Amit , Artanti Kurnia Dwi , Asemahagn Mulusew A. , Asmare Wondwossen Niguse , Atout Maha Moh’d Wahbi , Ausloos Marcel , Awoke Nefsu , Quintanilla Beatriz Paulina Ayala , Ayanore Martin Amogre , Aynalem Yared Asmare , Ayza Muluken Altaye , Azene Zelalem Nigussie , Darshan B. B. , Badiye Ashish D. , Baig Atif Amin , Bakkannavar Shankar M. , Banach Maciej , Banik Palash Chandra , Bärnighausen Till Winfried , Basaleem Huda , Bayati Mohsen , Baye Bayisa Abdissa , Bedi Neeraj , Belay Sefealem Assefa , Bhagavathula Akshaya Srikanth , Bhandari Dinesh , Bhardwaj Nikha , Bhardwaj Pankaj , Bhutta Zulfiqar A. , Bijani Ali , Birhan Tsegaye Adane , Birihane Binyam Minuye , Bitew Zebenay Workneh , Bohlouli Somayeh , Bohluli Mahdi , Bojia Hunduma Amensisa , Boloor Archith , Brady Oliver J. , Bragazzi Nicola Luigi , Brunoni Andre R. , Budhathoki Shyam S. , Nagaraja Sharath Burugina , Butt Zahid A. , Cárdenas Rosario , Castaldelli-Maia Joao Mauricio , Castro Franz , Cernigliaro Achille , Charan Jaykaran , Chatterjee Pranab , Chatterjee Souranshu , Chattu Vijay Kumar , Chaturvedi Sarika , Chowdhury Mohiuddin Ahsanul Kabir , Chu Dinh-Toi , Collison Michael L. , Cook Aubrey J. , Cork Michael A. , Couto Rosa A. S. , Dagnew Baye , Dai Haijiang , Dandona Lalit , Dandona Rakhi , Daneshpajouhnejad Parnaz , Darwesh Aso Mohammad , Darwish Amira Hamed , Daryani Ahmad , Das Jai K. , Gupta Rajat Das , Dávila-Cervantes Claudio Alberto , Davis Adrian Charles , Weaver Nicole Davis , Denova-Gutiérrez Edgar , Deribe Kebede , Desalew Assefa , Deshpande Aniruddha , Dessie Awrajaw , Deuba Keshab , Dharmaratne Samath Dhamminda , Dhimal Meghnath , Dhungana Govinda Prasad , Diaz Daniel , Didarloo Alireza , Dipeolu Isaac Oluwafemi , Doan Linh Phuong , Duko Bereket , Duraes Andre Rodrigues , Dwyer-Lindgren Laura , Earl Lucas , Zaki Maysaa El Sayed , Tantawi Maha El , Elema Teshome Bekele , Elhabashy Hala Rashad , El-Jaafary Shaimaa I. , Faris Pawan Sirwan , Faro Andre , Farzadfar Farshad , Feigin Valery L. , Feleke Berhanu Elfu , Ferede Tomas Y. , Fischer Florian , Foigt Nataliya A. , Folayan Morenike Oluwatoyin , Franklin Richard Charles , Gad Mohamed M. , Gaidhane Shilpa , Gardner William M. , Geberemariyam Biniyam Sahiledengle , Gebregiorgis Birhan Gebresillassie , Gebremedhin Ketema Bizuwork , Gebremichael Berhe , Ghaffarpasand Fariborz , Gilani Syed Amir , Ginindza Themba G. , Glagn Mustefa , Golechha Mahaveer , Gonfa Kebebe Bekele , Goulart Bárbara Niegia Garcia , Gudi Nachiket , Guido Davide , Guled Rashid Abdi , Guo Yuming , Hamidi Samer , Handiso Demelash Woldeyohannes , Hasaballah Ahmed I. , Hassan Amr , Hayat Khezar , Hegazy Mohamed I. , Heidari Behnam , Henry Nathaniel J. , Herteliu Claudiu , de Hidru Hagos Degefa , Ho Hung Chak , Hoang Chi Linh , Holla Ramesh , Hon Julia , Hosseini Mostafa , Hosseinzadeh Mehdi , Househ Mowafa , Hsairi Mohamed , Hu Guoqing , Huda Tanvir M. , Hwang Bing-Fang , Ibitoye Segun Emmanuel , Ilesanmi Olayinka Stephen , Ilic Irena M. , Ilic Milena D. , Inbaraj Leeberk Raja , Iqbal Usman , Irvani Seyed Sina Naghibi , Islam M. Mofizul , Iwu Chidozie C. D. , Iwu Chinwe Juliana , Jain Animesh , Janodia Manthan Dilipkumar , Javaheri Tahereh , John-Akinola Yetunde O. , Johnson Kimberly B. , Joukar Farahnaz , Jozwiak Jacek Jerzy , Kabir Ali , Kalankesh Leila R. , Kalhor Rohollah , Kamath Ashwin , Kamyari Naser , Kanchan Other Tanuj , Kapoor Neeti , Matin Behzad Karami , Karimi Salah Eddin , Kasaye Habtamu Kebebe , Kassahun Getinet , Kassebaum Nicholas J. , Kayode Gbenga A. , Karyani Ali Kazemi , Keiyoro Peter Njenga , Kelkay Bayew , Khalid Nauman , Khan Md. Nuruzzaman , Khatab Khaled , Khater Amir M. , Khater Mona M. , Khatib Mahalaqua Nazli , Kim Yun Jin , Kimokoti Ruth W. , Kinyoki Damaris K. , Kisa Adnan , Kisa Sezer , Kosen Soewarta , Krishan Kewal , Kulkarni Vaman , Kumar G. Anil , Kumar Manasi , Kumar Nithin , Kumar Pushpendra , Kurmi Om P. , Kusuma Dian , Vecchia Carlo La , Lad Sheetal D. , Lami Faris Hasan , Landires Iván , Lansingh Van Charles , Lasrado Savita , Lee Paul H. , LeGrand Kate E. , Letourneau Ian D. , Lewycka Sonia , Li Bingyu , Li Ming-Chieh , Li Shanshan , Liu Xuefeng , Lodha Rakesh , Lopez Jaifred Christian F. , Louie Celia , Machado Daiane Borges , Maled Venkatesh , Maleki Shokofeh , Malta Deborah Carvalho , Mamun Abdullah A. , Manafi Navid , Mansournia Mohammad Ali , Mapoma Chabila Christopher , Marczak Laurie B. , Martins-Melo Francisco Rogerlândio , Mehndiratta Man Mohan , Mejia-Rodriguez Fabiola , Mekonnen Tefera Chane , Mendoza Walter , Menezes Ritesh G. , Mengesha Endalkachew Worku , Mersha Abera M. , Miller Ted R. , Mini G. K. , Mirrakhimov Erkin M. , Misra Sanjeev , Moghadaszadeh Masoud , Mohammad Dara K. , Mohammadian-Hafshejani Abdollah , Mohammed Jemal Abdu , Mohammed Shafiu , Mokdad Ali H. , Montero-Zamora Pablo A. , Moradi Masoud , Moradzadeh Rahmatollah , Moraga Paula , Mosser Jonathan F. , Mousavi Seyyed Meysam , Khaneghah Amin Mousavi , Munro Sandra B. , Muriithi Moses K. , Mustafa Ghulam , Muthupandian Saravanan , Nagarajan Ahamarshan Jayaraman , Naik Gurudatta , Naimzada Mukhammad David , Nangia Vinay , Nascimento Bruno Ramos , Nayak Vinod C. , Ndejjo Rawlance , Ndwandwe Duduzile Edith , Negoi Ionut , Nguefack-Tsague Georges , Ngunjiri Josephine W. , Nguyen Cuong Tat , Nguyen Diep Ngoc , Nguyen Huong Lan Thi , Nigussie Samuel Negash , Nigussie Tadesse T. N. , Nikbakhsh Rajan , Nnaji Chukwudi A. , Nunez-Samudio Virginia , Oancea Bogdan , Oghenetega Onome Bright , Olagunju Andrew T. , Olusanya Bolajoko Olubukunola , Olusanya Jacob Olusegun , Omer Muktar Omer , Onwujekwe Obinna E. , Ortega-Altamirano Doris V. , Osgood-Zimmerman Aaron E. , Otstavnov Nikita , Otstavnov Stanislav S. , Owolabi Mayowa O. , Mahesh P. A. , Padubidri Jagadish Rao , Pana Adrian , Pandey Anamika , Pandi-Perumal Seithikurippu R. , Pangaribuan Helena Ullyartha , Parsekar Shradha S. , Pasupula Deepak Kumar , Patel Urvish K. , Pathak Ashish , Pathak Mona , Pattanshetty Sanjay M. , Patton George C. , Paulos Kebreab , Pepito Veincent Christian Filipino , Pickering Brandon V. , Pinheiro Marina , Piwoz Ellen G. , Pokhrel Khem Narayan , Pourjafar Hadi , Prada Sergio I. , Pribadi Dimas Ria Angga , Syed Zahiruddin Quazi , Rabiee Mohammad , Rabiee Navid , Rahim Fakher , Rahimzadeh Shadi , Rahman Azizur , Rahman Mohammad Hifz Ur , Rahmani Amir Masoud , Rai Rajesh Kumar , Ranabhat Chhabi Lal , Rao Sowmya J. , Rastogi Prateek , Rathi Priya , Rawaf David Laith , Rawaf Salman , Rawassizadeh Reza , Rawat Rahul , Rawat Ramu , Regassa Lemma Demissie , Rego Maria Albertina Santiago , Reiner Robert C. , Reshmi Bhageerathy , Rezapour Aziz , Ribeiro Ana Isabel , Rickard Jennifer , Roever Leonardo , Rumisha Susan Fred , Rwegerera Godfrey M. , Sagar Rajesh , Sajadi S. Mohammad , Salem Marwa Rashad , Samy Abdallah M. , Santric-Milicevic Milena M. , Saraswathy Sivan Yegnanarayana Iyer , Sarker Abdur Razzaque , Sartorius Benn , Sathian Brijesh , Saxena Deepak , Sbarra Alyssa N. , Sengupta Debarka , Senthilkumaran Subramanian , Sha Feng , Shafaat Omid , Shaheen Amira A. , Shaikh Masood Ali , Shalash Ali S. , Shannawaz Mohammed , Sheikh Aziz , Shetty B. Suresh Kumar , Shetty Ranjitha S. , Shibuya Kenji , Shiferaw Wondimeneh Shibabaw , Shin Jae Il , Silva Diego Augusto Santos , Singh Narinder Pal , Singh Pushpendra , Singh Surya , Sintayehu Yitagesu , Skryabin Valentin Yurievich , Skryabina Anna Aleksandrovna , Soheili Amin , Soltani Shahin , Sorrie Muluken Bekele , Spurlock Emma Elizabeth , Steuben Krista M. , Sudaryanto Agus , Sufiyan Mu’awiyyah Babale , Swartz Scott J. , Tadesse Eyayou Girma , Tamiru Animut Tagele , Tapak Leili , Tareque Md. Ismail , Tarigan Ingan Ukur , Tesema Getayeneh Antehunegn , Tesfay Fisaha Haile , Teshome Abinet , Tessema Zemenu Tadesse , Thankappan Kavumpurathu Raman , Thapar Rekha , Thomas Nihal , Topor-Madry Roman , Tovani-Palone Marcos Roberto , Traini Eugenio , Tran Bach Xuan , Truong Phuong N. , Tsegaye Berhan Tsegaye B. T. , Ullah Irfan , Umeokonkwo Chukwuma David , Unnikrishnan Bhaskaran , Upadhyay Era , Uzochukwu Benjamin S. Chudi , VanderHeide John David , Violante Francesco S. , Vo Bay , Wado Yohannes Dibaba , Waheed Yasir , Wamai Richard G. , Wang Fang , Wang Yafeng , Wang Yuan-Pang , Wickramasinghe Nuwan Darshana , Wiens Kirsten E. , Wiysonge Charles Shey , Woyczynski Lauren , Wu Ai-Min , Wu Chenkai , Yamada Tomohide , Yaya Sanni , Yeshaneh Alex , Yeshaw Yigizie , Yeshitila Yordanos Gizachew , Yilma Mekdes Tigistu , Yip Paul , Yonemoto Naohiro , Yosef Tewodros , Younis Mustafa Z. , Yousuf Abdilahi Yousuf , Yu Chuanhua , Yu Yong , Yuce Deniz , Zafar Shamsa , Zaidi Syed Saoud , Zaki Leila , Zakzuk Josefina , Zamanian Maryam , Zar Heather J. , Zastrozhin Mikhail Sergeevich , Zastrozhina Anasthasia , Zelellw Desalege Amare , Zhang Yunquan , Zhang Zhi-Jiang , Zhao Xiu-Ju George , Zodpey Sanjay , Zuniga Yves Miel H. , Hay Simon I. 
Published: July 2021

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF)—giving infants only breast-milk for the first 6 months of life—is a component of optimal breastfeeding practices effective in preventing child morbidity and mortality. EBF practices are known to vary by population and comparable subnational estimates of prevalence and progress across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are required for planning policy and interventions. Here we present a geospatial analysis of EBF prevalence estimates from 2000 to 2018 across 94 LMICs mapped to policy-relevant administrative units (for example, districts), quantify subnational inequalities and their changes over time, and estimate probabilities of meeting the World Health Organization’s Global Nutrition Target (WHO GNT) of ≥70% EBF prevalence by 2030. While six LMICs are projected to meet the WHO GNT of ≥70% EBF prevalence at a national scale, only three are predicted to meet the target in all their district-level units by 2030.