Michael Latham, M.D., professor emeritus and graduate school professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell, was honored Oct. 7 with the Michael Latham Public Lecture at the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) meeting in Penang, Malaysia.

The lecture was titled "The First Food Crisis? How to Reduce the Unacceptable Levels of Malnutrition Through Improving Breastfeeding." Latham, a co-founder of WABA and the co-chair of WABA's International Advisory Council, was honored "for his 50 years of contribution to the global health and breastfeeding movement. … He is internationally recognized for his expertise in the major nutritional problems of developing countries. In research, teaching and public service he has been particularly involved with breastfeeding, infant and child health; parasitic infections and their relationship to health; micronutrient deficiencies, especially iron deficiency anemias and vitamin A deficiency; and nutrition and human rights."

"Michael is an exceptionally brilliant scholar, researcher and teacher and a passionate activist and advocate for improving maternal and infant health," wrote Susan Siew and Sarah Amin, co-directors of WABA, a global network of individuals and organizations concerned with the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding worldwide.