Breast Feeding Week observed in Balochistan

Quetta: A breast feeding week was organized from October 23rd to October 30th to highlight the importance of breast feeding in children.

The campaign, titled 'Breastfeeding: A winning Goal for Life' was initiated by the Balochistan Health Director General Naseer Ahmed Baloch. He expressed his views on the subject during a press conference arranged at the Quetta Press Club. Prominent attendees of the conference included Balochistan Nutritional Cell Director Abid Panezai and Save the Children Advocacy and Campaign Head Nadeem Shaheed Ferozi among others.  

Director General Naseer Ahmed stated that according to recent surveys, the percentage of breast feeding in infants has gone down from 63% to 27% in Balochistan. He further said that the approximately 63 newborns die within their first month, 97 died the same day of their birth and 111 barely survived till their fifth birthday. 

He informed the attendees of the conference that the campaign would play a positive role in protecting numerous lives in the province. He said that various seminars had been planned for the Week in collaboration with UNICEF, Save the Children Foundation and the Nutritional Cell.

He added that messages would be spread among masses via radio and cable networks in different regional languages elucidating the importance of breast feeding in infants. Preparations for the Week included the placement of educational banners across the city.