The Sindh government is in the process of streamlining and getting legislation approved for mother and child safety said Sindh Assembly Sindh Infant Feeding Board member Syed Nasir Hussain Shah Wednesday.
Addressing a seminar organised jointly by Save the Children and Health Education Literacy Programme (HELP), the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader expressed concern that the country loses no less than 400,000 children under the age of five years every year due to different infections.
The MPA regretted that these deaths are easily avoidable if the kids are breast-fed by their mothers till the age of two, as guided in the Holy Quran.
Shah said that the message that exclusively breast-feeding infants for the first six months of their lives complimented with weaning till two years can guarantee healthy lives for our children has to be extensively and efficiently spread among our communities.
He reiterated the government’s commitment in this context and assured that not only efficient legislation would be done in this regard but measures would also be adopted for implementation of the relevant rules and regulations.
The MPA also urged the civil society, religious scholars, community leaders as well as women activists to support the government and exercise their influence on the families to promote the culture of breast-feeding, which is “equally beneficial for mothers and their children”.
The event was also addressed by Sindh Assembly members Soorat Thebo and Iqbal Dehto and health experts Professor DS Akram, Professor Iqbal Memon, Dr Ammara, Dr Sohail, Dr Shahzad Ali and Dr Sabeen Adil.