Promoting Breastfeeding with the Child Friendly Health Clinic Initiative
Ramallah, 29th of May 2023
World Vision International, in partnership with the Ministry of Health (MoH), organised a high-level workshop in Jericho on 29 May 2023, to initiate the implementation of the Child Friendly Health Clinics Initiative. This initiative aims to ensure that mothers receive immediate, high-quality support for successful breastfeeding after giving birth. The focus is to improve the quality of services related to breastfeeding in MoH Primary Health Care clinics, particularly the information and support provided to mothers before and during the crucial first hours after delivery. The initiative will also monitor the quality of services provided by clinics and grant a certification of Child Friendly Clinics to those meeting the required standards.
The workshop's objective was to introduce the initiative to the leadership of the relevant directorates of the Ministry of Health and prepare for its implementation. The meeting was attended by 36 directors and heads of departments, including the Directors of the Department of Health Affairs, Community Health Department and the Nursing Department. This meeting under the direction of Dr. Kamal Al-Shakhra, Assistant Deputy Minister for Public Health & Family Health and supporting of Dr. Yaser Bozeya and the DG of Public Health. Leading the workshop was Eng. Mousa Al-Halaika, the Director of the Nutrition Department, who has received training on the initiative and presented it to his colleagues. Subsequently, approximately 100 nurses working with mothers and children in the Primary Health Care clinics across the West Bank will undergo six training sessions to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to implement the initiative at the clinic level.
"Breastfeeding is the most powerful way to start, sustain, and strengthen a healthy mother-child bonding experience; it is also considered to be one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival, providing infants with the ideal nutrition" said Lauren Taylor, National Director of World Vision Jerusalem - West Bank - Gaza.
Breastmilk is safe, clean, and contains antibodies that protect against common childhood illnesses. It supplies all the energy and nutrients needed by the infant for the first six months of life. According to the World Health Organisation, breastfeeding within the first hour after birth, is a crucial factor in increasing the child's chances to surve.
In the occupied Palestinian territory, the percentage of children breastfed within the first hour after birth has decreased from around 62% in 2010 to 41% in 2020. However, the percentage of Palestinian children aged 0-5 months who are exclusively breastfed has significantly increased from approximately 29% in 2010 to about 38% in 2014 and 43% in 2020.
"Palestinian mother willing to breastfeed their babies are facing several challenges such as aggressive marketing of breast milk substitutes and a lack of clarity regarding optimal infant feeding practices. This initiative aims to reduce these challenges and provide them with all the help they need to give their babies the best start in life" said Dr. Salem Jaraiseh, Health & Early Childhood Development Technical Lead at World Vision.
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About World Vision International
World Vision International is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organisation dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. The organisation started to work in the West Bank and Gaza in 1975. Since then, World Vision JWG has developed one of the largest community-based presence of any organisation operating in the West Bank with 91 dedicated staff and a total annual budget of US$11 million. In 2022, our programming on Education in Emergencies, early childhood development, child protection and child resilience benefited directly more than 233,000 people, including 169,000 children in 150 villages in eight governorates of the West Bank.