Increasing awareness: Govt initiates campaign on breastfeeding

Door-to-door drives will be held in 18 districts of K-P, Kurram, SW agencies.

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa health ministry has inaugurated a month-long breastfeeding awareness campaign which will be carried out in 18 districts across the province. Furthermore, drives will also be conducted in Kurram and South Waziristan agencies of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony held at the health directorate on Tuesday, K-P Health Services Director General Pervez Kamal said desired objectives will not be achieved until a large-scale awareness campaign is carried out. “The people should be informed how important breastfeeding is for the new-born.”

He maintained that health officials, particularly Lady Health Workers and those from Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Programme should be involved in the process so that they can educate mothers on the benefits of breastfeeding. Since they carry out door-to-door visits, they can easily spread the word.

“We have the workforce but we are not using it efficiently,” added Kamal. He also suggested that women should be provided with separate space at workplaces where they can feed their children.

Public health deputy director Dr Shaheen Afridi said besides allocating space at workplaces, places should also be designated at hospitals where both the nursing staff and visitors can feed their children.

She suggested the government ban doctors from advising mothers on using formula milk so that the infants can be breastfed for at least the first two years. Nutrition and reproductive health deputy director Dr Qaisar said legislation will soon be carried out in this regard.

Speakers urged clerics, health employees and local paediatricians to participate in the campaign to make it a success. Representatives of World Health Organization, Unicef and World Food Programme were also present on the occasion.

Around 48% of the children in K-P are stunted whereas the rate soars to 58% in the tribal areas. Similarly, around 24% of the children in K-P and 14% in the tribal areas are underweight. A national survey says only 38% of the infants are breastfed in the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2015.