Last July, the Universitat inaugurated the thirteenth breastfeeding room at Espai Vives, reaffirming the institution’s commitment to balancing family and work life, co-parenting and the comfort of the university community..

Now, the Principal of the Universitat de València, Juan Luis Gandia, and the president of the IHAN, Salomé Laredo, have signed the agreement by which the university policy guidelines have been formalised. This agreement also includes carrying out certain activities related to knowledge transfer, education and research.

Both institutions will cooperate to implement the 2030 Agenda SDGs towards which breastfeeding contributes; they will improve knowledge transfer related to breastfeeding through dissemination and university collaboration among university students as a social good; and they will work on an action plan in accordance with the UV’s equality plans to protect breastfeeding by establishing specially dedicated zones.

In regards to the last point, the IHAN president pointed out that the Universitat de València was the first Spanish university to inaugurate spaces for breastfeeding. The Uinversidad Autónoma de Madrid and the Universidad de Sevilla then joined this initiative.

Principal Juan Luis Gandia celebrated this recent agreement that guarantees the continuation of the collaboration accord between the UV and the IHAN during the next four years. Salomé Laredo emphasised the fact that breastfeeding is a “matter of health”, as well as a research and cooperation topic of great importance within the Universitat, “which is why it is important to show our joint support for it”, she stated.

In accordance with this agreement, the UV commits to developing an IHAN accreditation programme in order to certificate the best practices in promoting breastfeeding within the Universitat, to advocate for seminars and courses taught by expert professors, and to expand the education and research development methods on breastfeeding.

The following members of the Universitat de València also attended this act: Amelia Mañá, the Vice-Principal for Equality, Diversity and Well-being; Rosa Mochales, the Director of the Equality Unit; and José Miguel Soriano del Castillo, a researcher and full university professor of Nutrition who will lead a new project between universities to develop the fifth human milk bank in Peru. As for members of the IHAN, María Teresa Hernández, an international delegate; Yta Goicoa, the person in charge of accounting; and Pilar Abad, a representative from the Amamanta – Breastfeeding Support Group also attended the event.

The IHAN mainly work on protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding with the support of the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF and the Spanish Ministry of Health.