Health Minister advises breastfeeding newborns immediately after birth
Health Minister Sardar Md. Sakhawat Hossain has advised breastfeeding newborns immediately after birth. He said that breast milk is the biggest natural source of vitamin A for children. Therefore, the media should play an important role in raising public awareness in this regard.
He said these things after inaugurating the ‘National Vitamin A Plus Campaign’ at the Shaheed Abu Sayeed Convention Center on Mintu Road in the capital today (June 28). The Health Minister said that children should be fed only breast milk from birth to six months of age. After that, along with nutritious complementary foods according to age, regular breastfeeding should be continued. In addition, water, honey, sugar or other balanced foods should be given to ensure proper nutrition of the child.
He also said that the quality of our vaccines is very good. We have held a conference with UNICEF in this regard. This high-quality vaccine has been collected after testing in an international laboratory. Therefore, we are confident that the people of the country are being given the highest quality vaccines.
The Health Minister said that this program will not be limited to any specific area but will be run simultaneously across the country. If someone fails to get vaccinated on the second day, he will be vaccinated on the third day and if he misses out on the third day, he will be vaccinated on the fourth day. In other words, such arrangements have been made so that no one is left out.
He also said that an adequate amount of Vitamin A capsules have been collected through UNICEF. Currently, we have 26 million capsules in stock of red and blue. Out of this, Vitamin A capsules are being given to children according to their age in today’s campaign.
The Health Minister said that 1 lakh IU blue capsules are being given to children aged 6 to 11 months and 2 lakh IU red capsules are being given to children aged 12 to 59 months. A total of 2 lakh 55 thousand 34 thousand children will be given Vitamin A capsules today.
