Health and UNICEF promote breastfeeding in hospitals and primary care

The Regional Ministry of Health of the Community of Madrid, the Madrid Health Service (Sermas), and the UNICEF Foundation-Spanish Committee have signed an agreement to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding and to extend IHAN accreditation across the region’s public health centers. The agreement was signed on October 7, 2026, and was published in the B.O.C.M. no. 268 of November 7, 2026, in Section I (D. Announcements), under reference BOCM-20261107-3.

The text is part of the Community of Madrid’s Maternity Protection and Birth Promotion Strategy 2022-2026, specifically objectives 1 to 4 of its Measure 07: facilitating the adoption of UNICEF recommendations by hospitals and health centers, boosting the regular activity of breastfeeding committees, promoting continuity of care between hospitals and health centers, and achieving IHAN recognition.

IHAN—the Initiative for the Humanization of Birth Assistance and Breastfeeding—is an initiative promoted by UNICEF, aligned with the strategy and recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). Centers that meet its standards regarding information for pregnant women, humanization of childbirth, the first hour of life, and breastfeeding obtain accreditation as an IHAN Hospital.

A scope of 26 hospitals and all primary care

Annex I of the agreement lists the 26 included Sermas hospital centers, including:

• La Paz University Hospital, 12 de Octubre University Hospital, Gregorio Marañón General University Hospital, and Clínico San Carlos Hospital.
• Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda University Hospital, Getafe University Hospital, and Severo Ochoa University Hospital.
• Niño Jesús University Children’s Hospital, La Princesa University Hospital, Móstoles University Hospital, and San José y Santa Adela Red Cross Central Hospital.
• The list is completed with centers such as Príncipe de Asturias University Hospital, Santa Cristina University Hospital, Infanta Sofía University Hospital, Sureste University Hospital, Henares University Hospital, Tajo University Hospital, El Escorial Hospital, Guadarrama Hospital, and Virgen de la Poveda Hospital, among others.

In primary care, the agreement covers all centers across the seven Healthcare Directorates (North, East, Southeast, South, West, Center, and the rest of the network). Coverage is not limited to maternity wards: it also includes healthy babies, sick babies, or those admitted to ICUs, surgical services, or any non-obstetric admission, and promotes rooming-in for mother and child “whenever possible.”

Breastfeeding committees, training, and the code for substitutes

Sermas assumes a dozen commitments, including:

• Designating a “volunteering coordinator” in each hospital center and in each Care Directorate to act as a liaison with UNICEF.
• Promoting the regular activity of the Breastfeeding Committees, with an annual activity report to be prepared by each Management.
• Promoting the training of healthcare professionals and the continuity of care between hospital and primary care.
• Conducting periodic monitoring of breastfeeding rates at both levels of care.
• Promoting compliance with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes in healthcare centers and respect for the Rights of the Hospitalized Child of the European Charter.

For its part, UNICEF-Spanish Committee —a foundation registered in the Registry of Foundations under number 28-1366, domiciled at calle Mauricio Legendre 36 in Madrid and with NIF G-84451087— must designate liaisons in each center, contribute to training, submit an annual financial report to the monitoring commission, and obtain approval from the Ministry’s Press Office before any media dissemination.

At no cost to the Community and with a joint commission

• Funding: the agreement does not generate financial obligations for the Ministry of Health or for Sermas. The foundation provides the resources, with an estimated annual amount of 600 euros, VAT included.
• Validity: four years from the signing, extendable by unanimous agreement for up to four additional years.
• Monitoring: a joint commission composed of a representative from the Ministry of Health (who presides), one from Sermas, and the presidency of the foundation. It must be established within two months following the signing and meet at least once a year, with a 72-hour notice (24 hours in case of urgency).
• Signatories: the Minister of Health, Fátima Matute Teresa; the Vice-Minister of Health and general director of Sermas, Laura Gutiérrez Barreno; and the proxy for UNICEF-Spanish Committee, José María Vera Villacián.

The agreement is administrative in nature, is excluded from the Public Sector Contracts Law, and is governed by Law 40/2015 and Decree 48/2019 on the conventional activity of the Community of Madrid.

The relevance of the agreement is twofold: on one hand, it secures in writing the respect for the substitutes code in Madrid’s public hospitals, a classic requirement of international recommendations on the matter; on the other, it turns the IHAN accreditation into a shared institutional goal for 26 hospitals and the seven care directorates, with annual reports and rate monitoring that will allow for the first time a homogeneous measurement of progress in breastfeeding in the region.

Source: Official Gazette of the Community of Madrid (B.O.C.M.), no. 268, November 7, 2026, Section I (D. Announcements), pp. 50-59 (official reference: BOCM-20261107-3).