Ever since the Millennium Development Goals were adopted in 2000, many wondered how the world would look 15 years later. Looking back, we can see tremendous progress: more children survive, more girls are in school, and more women have access to family planning and economic opportunity. Now, moving forward towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, there is unprecedented energy to further this success — and that challenges us to aim higher.
As we look for the next great drivers of change, innovation is critical. But we must not forget long existing, low-cost, proven approaches. One of these could add billions of dollars to the global economy and save hundreds of thousands of lives each year, increase educational achievement and productivity, and decrease the incidence of cancer.
It sounds almost too good to be true, right? It’s not. It’s breast-feeding.