World Breastfeeding Week: KP Health Dept Holds Seminars

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department in collaboration with UNICEF has observed 'World Breastfeeding Week (WBW)' with slogans "Step Up for Breastfeeding: Educate and Support" aiming to protect newborns from infections, diseases, and stronger immunity besides preventing child death.

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Aug, 2022 ) :Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department in collaboration with UNICEF has observed 'World Breastfeeding Week (WBW)' with slogans "Step Up for Breastfeeding: Educate and Support" aiming to protect newborns from infections, diseases, and stronger immunity besides preventing child death.

On the directives of Secretary KP Health Department Dr Ameer Khan Tareen, the team of the department has organized three awareness seminars in Peshawar, Abbottabad and Kohat districts. These seminars were participated by large number of health officials including doctors, nurses, surgeons and other paramedics working in different public hospitals.

Briefing the participants, UNICEF's Abdullah Mohammad Yusuf said that breastfeeding is the single most cost-effective public health intervention that can provide babies with a healthy life. He said that yet almost 50% of babies in KP remain deprived of mother's milk and exclusive breastfeeding for up to six months.

Secretary Health Ameer Khan also addressed the seminars and said that global breastfeeding week focuses on contribution of breastfeeding towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals since 2015. He said that breastfeeding plays an important role in managing double burden (under and over nutrition) of malnutrition. Breastfeeding provides food security and reduces inequality.

Director General Health Shaheen Afridi in his speech said that capacity building of healthcare providers in health system through education and transformation of the existing systems will help ensure breastfeeding.

He said that protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding addresses inequalities that stand in the way of sustainable development.

Global theme this year focuses on strengthening the capacity of actors that must protect, promote and support breastfeeding across different levels of society. The actors that make up the support system include healthcare providers, community health care workers, communities and families for breastfeeding. Target audiences including governments, health systems, workplaces and communities will be informed, educated, and empowered to strengthen their capacity to provide and sustain breastfeeding-friendly environments for families.

On the occasion, Director Nutrition Dr. Fazal Majeed said that our provincial initiatives are totally in line with the global priorities as the province is moving towards making its hospitals and communities baby friendly (BFHI and BFCI) and at the same time is establishing breastfeeding rooms in major hospitals and institutions to inculcate the culture of, normalizing breastfeeding and provide privacy to mothers outside their homes so they can continue to breastfeed.