National Breastfeeding Week celebrated in Turkmenistan on September 1-7 each year has lunched in Turkmenistan.

The educational activities with this year’s theme focusing on Mother Support: Going to the Gold are organized by the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan with the assistance of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Maternity and child care is a priority of the national healthcare policy. A number of the national programmes focused on breastfeeding, safe maternity, integrated management of childhood illness, anemia control, salt iodization and enrichment flour with iron are implemented in the country in close collaboration with the international experts. In the framework o f the reproductive health programme the special centre were opened in Ashgabat and the administrative centres and the reproductive health rooms on the rural areas. The health centres supplied with advanced medical equipment and technologies Ene Myakhri are under construction in all the regions.

According to the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry the action launched with the assistance of the UN Children’s Fund is aimed at raising the awareness of the importance of breastfeeding. Its agenda includes various meetings, contests among healthcare workers, lectures at the enterprises and organisations, dissemination of newsletters, brochures and posters on the theme of maternity and healthy child development. At present about 90 percent of newborns in Turkmenistan are breastfed. The Baby-Friendly Hospital international certificates were awarded to about 95 percent of the obstetric institutions in the country

This activity is coordinated by the National Breastfeeding Support Centre at the Maternity and Child Health Care Research and Clinic Centre. The local specialists carry out the work to elucidate the benefits of breastfeeding involving healthcare workers, journalists, international and national partners in these activities. The guides and textbook with the breastfeeding information and recommendations for mothers are released. Each mother receives the guides upon being discharged from hospitals.

On the eve of the National Breastfeeding Week each mobile user received the SMS message on the importance of breastfeeding in the first six months of a child’s life.