Qatar Marks World Breastfeeding Week with Nationwide Awareness Campaigns

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) is intensifying awareness of the importance of breastfeeding during World Breastfeeding Week, which runs from 1 to 7 August.

On this occasion, the Ministry of Public Health launched an extensive awareness campaign on its social media sites, including publishing messages and videos about the importance of breastfeeding.

The Ministry organises several key activities and events during the celebration, including an event at the Ministry of Public Health building targeting public health sector employees on the importance of breastfeeding. During the event, health sector staff were briefed on maternal and infant nutrition guidelines, mental health, information on leave policies and entitlements for breastfeeding mothers, and responding to employee inquiries.

The Ministry of Public Health is conducting awareness events and activities in collaboration with its partners in the health sector to raise awareness of the importance of breastfeeding. One such event, held in partnership with the Primary Health Care Corporation at Al Sadd Health Centre, supports mothers and enhances community participation in promoting optimal infant and young child nutrition practices. This event targets visitors to the centre, including pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, families, health care providers, and community members. 

The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) is organising another event in collaboration with Sidra Medicine to raise awareness about the importance of breastfeeding and to respond to inquiries.  

The Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with its partners, is organising several important initiatives and programmes in maternal and child nutrition, promoting breastfeeding and complementary feeding, most notably the implementation of the baby-friendly hospitals initiative to encourage breastfeeding from the first moments after birth, and aims to transform all maternal and child care facilities into breastfeeding-friendly centres. Additionally, the Ministry is enhancing the skills of health sector workers by providing training to support and encourage breastfeeding, as well as sharing the best practices in this field. The overall goal is to protect and promote the health of pregnant women, mothers, and their babies.

The Ministry of Public Health is also keen to train medical staff to implement the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) growth charts for children under five. These charts aim to detect malnutrition (obesity, overweight, underweight, and stunting) early.

The Nutrition Guidelines for the State of Qatar for Mother and Child (0-5 years) will be published soon in Arabic and English. They aim to support the health of mothers and their babies through scientific recommendations during the preconception, pregnancy, and early childhood periods.

In 2018, a World Health Assembly resolution endorsed WBW as an important breastfeeding promotion strategy. Championed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Ministries of Health and civil society partners around the globe, the World Breastfeeding Week serves to remind the public and policy-makers that breastfeeding lays the foundation for lifelong health and development.