Ministry of Public Health Organizes Workshop on Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative

Doha, October 13 (QNA) - The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) organized virtually a training workshop on the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, for mother and child healthcare providers in public and private hospitals. The workshop came as part of completing the training for the initiative, launched in 1991 by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to protect and promote the health of pregnant women, new mothers and their children. The MOPH started implementing this initiative since 2016 to increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for children aged under six months in the State of Qatar. The fourth of its kind in 2022, the workshop aimed to build and prepare the capacities of mother and child healthcare providers by presentations and practical exercises, panels, and training attendees on approaches and methods for providing advice on breastfeeding. The workshop was presented by specialists from the MOPH, Women's Health and Research Center, Al Wakra Hospital, the Primary Health Care Corporation and Al Ahli Hospital, all of whom the MOPH was keen to train over the past years on this initiative. The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is one of the objectives of the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Action Plan, which aims to improve maternal and child nutrition, and reduce premature deaths resulting from non-communicable diseases related to malnutrition and lack of physical activity. (QNA)