Child, mother health: Infant feeding strategy finalised after seven years

All provinces to constitute infant feeding committees for implementation

ISLAMABAD:

After seven years of delay, Pakistan along with its development partners, has finalised the much needed national strategy on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices for 2016-2020.

The four-year national strategy was finalised in a meeting of the National Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for IYCF, held on Monday at a local hotel in Islamabad.



The finalisation involved a series of consultative processes, involving the provincial health departments and nutrition cells, UN partners, donors. Other stakeholders in the process were pediatricians, public health specialists and members of civil society.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (NHSRC) Director Nutrition Dr Baseer Khan Achakzai said that in 2008, the national strategy on IYCF was drafted and then shelved.

A few years later, the health ministry was devolved in 2011 under the 18th Amendment, which further delayed the finalisation, Achakzai said.

“The nutrition wing of the federal health ministry has played its role by finalisng the plan. Now the ball is in the provincial governments’ court for its effective implementation through making action plans according to their needs and demands,” he said.

Sharing details, he said that under this national strategy, all the provinces will constitute infant feeding committees for the effective implementation of breastfeeding laws. Provinces will also check on people who violate the law, such as doctors who prescribe formula milk to mothers instead of encouraging them to breastfeed, he said.

Furthermore, the national strategy will stress on having adequate legislation to protect the breastfeeding rights of working women, and to ensure that processed infant and complementary foods are safe and nutritionally adequate in line with relevant Codex Alimentarius guidelines.



In addition, it will also develop capacity among the health system and community to support IYCF in exceptionally difficult circumstances, including emergencies and HIV/AIDS among others, he said.

“This national strategy is the need of the hour in order to reduce maternal and infant mortality rate in Pakistan. Most of all, this national strategy, once implemented, will help improve the exclusive breastfeeding rate in the country, which currently is at a dismal 38 per cent and will discourage bottle feeding, which is 41 per cent,” he said.

He further said that the effective implementation of the strategy will help improve the malnutrition status among children.

“In Pakistan, currently the stunting rate among children is 44 per cent, and hopefully the increase in the rate of exclusive breastfeeding will help reduce this,” said Dr Achakzai.

UNESCO Nutrition Chief Melanie Galvin, in a press release, has appreciated the ministry and the nutrition wing for completing this task. She assured UNICEF’s support in all activities related to mother and child health in the country.

PIMS Pediatric Department Head Dr Tabish Hazir has also appreciated the policy, and called upon provinces to make sure exclusive breastfeeding of infants till six months, and complementary feeding onwards.

Hazir also emphasised that strict implementation of the breastfeeding code should be followed in our hospitals and doctors should not prescribe infant formula to new born babies.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th,  2015.