NUTRITION CENTRIC TO BREAST FEEDING
: DR. JOSHI
"Nutrition is centric to breast feeding", said Dr.
Murli Manohar Joshi, Minister for Human Resource Development here
yesterday while presiding over a 3-day Asia Pacific Conference
on Breast Feeding. He said that if lactating mothers are not healthy,
then breast feeding will not help in producing healthy children
who are our future. Hence, he said the Department of Women and
Child Development of his Ministry has embarked on the programme
of holistic development of both women and child and the national
nutrition mission forms a part of it. For this, the target group
identified are; lactating mothers, pregnant mothers and adolescent
girls. Apart from this the mission also covers children especially
school going children under mid day meal programme. Therefore
our future generations as well as present younger lot have to
be provided nutrition. Mal-nutrition in both children and young
mothers lead to a lot of health care problems including pre-mature
and infant deaths, he added.
Since problem is all the more acute in the
Asia Pacific Region, Dr. Joshi urged the participants to see how
we can provide affordable but fully nutritious food to our target
group. Describing the Conference as timely, the Minister said
that a greater awareness has been created about the benefits of
breast feeding which brings about an essential bond between the
child, the mother and the society.
The Minister of Health and Family Welfare,
Smt. Sushma Swaraj who opened the Conference sought the involvement
of industry and the society as well as media for greater success
of the breast feeding awareness programme. Claim to mother’s milk,
which has no substitute and wholesome, is the basic right of the
child, she said.
The Secretary, Department of Women and Child
Development, Smt. Kasturi Gupta Menon said this is a global programme
and national guidelines and policies formulated for this have
to be effectively implemented. Fuller involvement of State Governments
alone will ensure the success of the programme, she said.
