Karachi: Declaring breastfeeding a top health priority, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho on Friday launched World Breastfeeding Week, saying the province was leading the country in legislation protecting mothers and infants from aggressive formula marketing.
She said reducing infant mortality and ensuring optimal child health remained at the top of the provincial government’s health agenda, with breastfeeding promotion backed by legislation, trained healthcare workers and expansion of baby-friendly hospitals.
Dr Pechuho said Sindh was leading the country in legislative protection through the Sindh Protection and Promotion of Breast-feeding and Young Child Nutrition Act, which establishes strict controls on the promotion of breastmilk substitutes.
Under the law, infant formula, commercial breastmilk substitutes and complementary foods intended for children up to three years of age cannot be promoted, advertised or marketed through the media or healthcare system.
The minister said the government would remain vigilant in enforcing the law to protect families from commercial practices that discourage breastfeeding, create unnecessary dependence on formula and undermine mothers’ confidence.
She said the provincial government was also expanding the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative by transforming major tertiary, district and regional hospitals into facilities where mothers receive support to begin breastfeeding within an hour of birth.
The initiative promotes immediate skin-to-skin contact, rooming-in and continued breastfeeding without unnecessary formula feeding. More than 3,000 healthcare providers have been trained in clinical lactation management, breastfeeding counselling and maternal nutrition across public health facilities.
Dr Pechuho said exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, followed by safe, nutrient-rich homemade complementary foods alongside continued breastfeeding, protected children against severe diarrhoea, pneumonia and acute malnutrition.
Along with routine immunisation, she said, optimal breastfeeding and the timely introduction of appropriate complementary foods could save thousands of children’s lives in Sindh every year.
Marking World Breastfeeding Week under the theme “Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works,” she urged doctors, nurses, civil society organisations, the media and families to support mothers in breastfeeding successfully.
UNICEF described breastfeeding as a shared responsibility and a cornerstone of child survival, nutrition and development, calling upon governments, healthcare professionals, employers, communities and families to strengthen support for mothers.
UNICEF will support advocacy, awareness, community engagement and media activities throughout August to promote and protect breastfeeding across the country.
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