At a glance
Natural disasters can make it difficult for parents or caregivers to feed their infants and young children safely and appropriately. This toolkit can be used to help ensure that children are fed safely when disaster strikes.
CDC's IYCF-E Toolkit
CDC's Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (IYCF-E) toolkit provides resources for states, communities, programs, emergency preparedness and response personnel, families, and the public. The toolkit can be used during and after emergencies and disasters such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and tornados.
The toolkit contains:
- Information, resources, and tools about supporting families and providing optimal nutrition to infants and young children during emergencies.
- Printable handouts to be used with or given to families.
- Information for families and caregivers about being prepared to feed infants and young children during emergencies.
- Information for the public about donations in response to emergencies.
What's included
For states, communities, programs, and emergency preparedness and response personnel:
- IYCF-E toolkit introduction
- Health equity considerations
- Emergency preparedness, response, and recovery
- Facts about infant feeding during emergencies
- Supporting optimal IYCF-E in emergency shelter settings
- Creating safe family-friendly spaces in emergency shelters
- Rapid needs assessment intake for IYCF-E
- Feeding solid foods during a natural disaster or emergency
- Supporting families with relactation
- IYCF-E social media toolkit
- Infant feeding signage for shelters
- Additional resources for IYCF-E
- Glossary
For families, caregivers, and the public:
Handouts to download or print
- Hand expression*
- Cup feeding infants during emergencies*
- How to prepare and store powdered infant formula during an emergency*
- How to clean infant feeding items during emergencies*
- Be prepared: Emergency preparation checklist for families with infants and young children*
- Rapid needs assessment intake form
- Breastfeeding during a disaster and other emergency
*Similar content available in Spanish.