President Alvi emphasizes role of Pesh Imams and media to promote breastfeeding in Pakistan for healthier future generations.

ISLAMABAD -- President Dr. Arif Alvi on Monday emphasized the role of Pesh Imams (Prayer Leaders) and media to promote breastfeeding in Pakistan for healthier future generations by preventing the children from stunting and other communicable diseases.

Addressing an "Advocacy Seminar on Protection and Promotion of Breastfeeding" here at Aiwan-e-Sadr, the president said that breastfeeding was the most cost-effective intervention for children's healthier growth.

The president said that the role of prayer leaders, media and lady health workers was vital for greater dissemination of awareness messages as they had better access to society.

First Lady Samina Arif Alvi, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health, Dr Faisal Sultan, SAPM on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Parliamentary Secretary on Heath, Dr Nosheen Hamid, Country Representative of UNICEF Aida Girma-Melaku attended the event besides parliamentarians and women from different walks of life.

Started with the recitation of Quranic verses teaching the breastfeeding for 24 to 30 months, the seminar also featured a video documentary to highlight the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for at least initial six months and dispelling misconceptions about it.

The President said that in Pakistan almost 50% percent of the children were not breastfed by the mothers which was quite unfortunate particularly for a Muslim country like Pakistan as both Quran and scientific research strongly advocated for mother's milk with no substitute of it.

...