BREAST-FEEDING FIRST

Minister of Health Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Saeedi emphasised on the significance of breastfeeding on both the mother and child and its impact on the public health. “Therefore, the MOH, in cooperation with the WHO and Unicef, recommended encouragement and supporting of natural breast-feeding along with timely appropriate complementary feeding”, he said.

The minister was speaking during a meeting to review the latest recommendations on the Omani Code for Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. The meeting was organised by Ministry of Health (MOH) represented by the Nutrition Department, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Sultanate, during the past years, has made remarkable achievements in various fields and in particular in the field of health. This is reflected in one of the fastest reduction of infant mortality rate in the region.

“These achievements have been possible because of the dedicated efforts of multi government authorities as well the effective use of resources and planning in the healthcare services”, the health minister said. SAFE NUTRITION The Omani Code for Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes aims at providing appropriate safe nutrition for infants and young children through encouraging and protecting natural breast-feeding.

It also ensures good use of breast milk substitutes based on given information during suitable marketing and distribution. NO PROMOTION According to the national code, companies must not provide or encourage any item in the form of a gift, grant or at a reduced price. It also bans distribution of any related material is also banned.

The Moh’s Nutrition department with the coordination of the Directorate General for Standards and Metrology at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has upgraded the Omani Code for Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes to “Regulating the Marketing of the Products categorised for Infant and Young Children”.