The Ministry of Health is promoting breastfeeding awareness with a two-day training on World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative this week.
The training is being held at the Tanoa Hotel where Pacific Island countries representatives from Kiribati, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands are participating to assess policies toward the protection, promotion and support for optimal infant and young child feeding practices.
The Ministry of Health permanent secretary Dr Salanieta Saketa said the training was timely given the efforts that Fiji made for attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for maternal and child health by 2015.
“The training will assist us more in the implementation of the code for marketing controls of foods for Infants and children which was passed by Cabinet in 2010,” Dr Saketa said.
This regulation is aligned with the 1981 World Health Organisation and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) code of marketing of breast milk substitutes (WHO/UNICEF Code) which Fiji is part of.
This code governs the way in which breast-milk substitutes should be marketed regulating marketing practices of baby food companies so that breastfeeding has a chance to thrive in Fiji.
Dr Saketa said 21 of Fiji’s public hospitals had been declared ‘Baby Friendly’ and the Department of Fisheries and Forest will soon be launching the opening of their workplace as ‘baby friendly’ to promote breastfeeding for their female workers.
Such initiatives show Fiji’s commitment towards Pillar 10 of Peoples Charter for Change, Peace and Progress on improving health service delivery.
In this year’s budget the Ministry of Health allocated $50,000 for milk supplement for malnourished children, $35,000 for child health development and $60,000 for baby friendly hospital initiatives.