Breastfeeding important for child's health: Dr Yasmin

LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid on Wednesday said the Health department was taking steps to promote breastfeeding as it was of paramount importance for the health of a child.

She was speaking on the inaugural ceremony of Global Breastfeeding Week 2020 for Punjab, held at the Planning and Development department here.

She said that role of Ulema was crucial in creating awareness about breastfeeding.

She said that breastfeeding was one of the major factors behind problem of stunted growth.

"We need to start an awareness campaign to promote breastfeeding. We are facilitating mothers at their workplcaes and offices. For healthy life of a person, mother feed is extremely important,” the minister said.

She said that lack of breastfeeding also caused iron deficiencies among mothers, adding that there had to be regular counseling of mothers to promote breastfeeding as it also boosted immunity of children.

"First two years of child are very important and Prime Minister Imran Khan had highlighted mother and child health in his first speech," the minister said.

"We are developing state of the art mother and child hospitals in Punjab,” she added. She said that Punjab had battled coronavirus with great hard work, adding that Punjab had hired 30,000 doctors on merit and efforts were on to provide all out facilities to patients.

Secretary Population Welfare Ali Bahadur Qazi, Principal Services Institute of Medical Sciences Professor Mehmood Ayaz, Dean Institute of Public Health Dr Zarfishan Tahir, Executive Director (Health) P&D Dr Sohail Saqlain, Professor of Gynae Dr Rubina Suhail, WHO representative Dr Yahya Gulzar and senior officials from other departments were present on the occasion.