Nepal opens its first-ever human milk bank for at-risk infants centre established in partnership between the Nepal, the European Union and UNICEF

PTI, KATHMANDU, AUGUST20, 2022: Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Friday inaugurated the Himalayan nation's first-ever human milk bank at a maternity and women's hospital here to give premature and other at-risk infants access to the vast benefits of breast milk when they need it the most. 

'Amrit Kosh,' the human milk bank at the Paropakar Maternity and Women's Hospital has the facilities to collect, pasteurise, test, and store safe donor human milk from lactating mothers and then provide it to infants in need, officials said.  

The centre has been established in partnership between the Government of Nepal, the European Union and UNICEF. Premature, low birth weight and small for gestational age babies are vulnerable in terms of survival and cognitive development and usually have feeding problems due to their medical conditions,"said Prof. Dr. Amir Babu Shrestha, Director, Paropakar Maternity and Women's Hospital. 

The milk bank is an important step towards ensuring baby-friendly health systems and gives premature, low birthweight, and other at-risk infants access to the vast benefits of breast milk when they need it the most, according to a press release issued by UNICEF Nepal. 

Every year, around 15million premature babies are born around the globe. In lower-middle-income countries like Nepal, an estimated 81,000 premature babies are born. Infants face the highest risk of dying in their first month of life while premature and low birth-weight babies face even a greater risk.