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CATHERINE W GICHUKI
DOHA
A draft law that will regulate breast milk substitutes is in its final stages and will be handed over to the Cabinet for approval, a top official of the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has said.
Speaking on the sidelines of a workshop on training assessors for the baby-friendly hospital initiative organised in collaboration with World Health Organisation and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Manager of Health Promotion and Non-communicable Diseases at the ministry Sheikha Dr Al Anoud bint Mohammed al Thani said that the draft law has already been submitted to HE the Minister of Public Health and would now be sent to the Cabinet for approval.
She added that awareness campaigns to encourage breast feeding will also start in the coming months.
"Once the law is approved, steps in coordination with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs will be taken to increase the maternity leave period. Besides, there will be no promotion of breast milk substitutes, which will be prescribed only in special circumstances", she added. Health providers will also be barred from attending any event promoting breast milk substitutes, she said.
The five-day workshop came as part of baby-friendly hospital initiative launched by the ministry in November 2016, to support and promote the health of both the mother and the baby, where it was announced that all hospitals and health centres would be baby-friendly in two years. The initiative promotes exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months after birth and then continues until when the baby is two years old.
Sheikha Dr Al Anoud said:"We started orientation workshops for all stakeholders regarding the baby-friendly hospital initiative in November 2016 and assessed the situation, which revealed that five of nine government hospitals had implemented some of the 10 steps that would qualify them to be baby-friendly hospitals."
Sheikha Dr Al Anoud added that a committee will be formed by the Ministry of Public Health which will be responsible for evaluation and accreditation of hospitals as baby-friendly hospitals.
According to her, the committee will consist of members from MoPH and PHCC and related organisations including the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce and MOLSA."We have already started communicating with them in this regard and we are waiting for the formal formation of this baby-friendly hospital initiative committee," she said.
In addition, she said the workshop is aimed at training assessors who will be responsible for monitoring the baby-friendly initiative."These assessors will be trained on the tools to carry out the exercise for authentic reports on hospitals with regard to implementation of baby-friendly initiatives", she pointed out.
A number of senior officials and healthcare workers from government and private facilities were present at the workshop."The attendance of senior officials from government and private sectors at the workshop shows a positive attitude and willingness to implement and support the baby-friendly initiative in Qatar," said Sheikha Dr Al Anoud.
