The Ministry of Health (MOH), represented by the Breastfeeding Encouragement Program, has signed today (Sunday) a community partnership with Saudi Child Care Association of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.
The agreement aims at supporting and encouraging breastfeeding through disseminating breastfeeding knowledge and skills, infant feeding among Princess Nourah University students and staff, training some of university staff on breastfeeding and infants feeding counselling, implementing educational campaigns in the university by staff and students, holding scientific seminars and forums and forming support groups including university staff and students. It also aims at boosting cooperation in academic, scientific, research, training, cultural and developmental fields, as well as exchanging academic, scientific, research, training and cultural visits between the two sides.
It is noteworthy that the breastfeeding encouragement program, which is one of the international health programs, is affiliated to the Nutrition General Department as the national coordinator of the program.
The program is mainly concerned with coordinating and developing policies for supporting breastfeeding and increasing its rates kingdom wide. It works as a coordinator with WHO and UNICEF. It also trains health practitioners to educate mothers and support proper infant feeding practices for better mother and child health, as well as to oversee hospitals and healthcare care centers' implementation of the required standards to earn the "baby friend" title in accordance with WHO and UNICEF standards.