Oguljahan Atabayeva, Vice-President for Medical Services at the Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Charitable Foundation for Assistance to Children in Need of Guardianship, proposed a number of initiatives to support breastfeeding at a high-level national ‘round table’. The forum was organised by the Charitable Foundation and the Office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Turkmenistan, according to the news agency ‘Turkmenistan: Golden age’.

In her speech, she emphasised the need to provide women with high-quality advice and practical support during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period.

‘Investing in breastfeeding is an investment in the future of the nation. Supporting breastfeeding enhances child protection, improves children’s nutrition and promotes their full development, strengthens mothers’ health, reduces healthcare costs, and makes a significant contribution to building a healthy society,’ said Oguljahan Atabayeva.

The Vice-President highlighted the need to develop specific measures to strengthen breastfeeding support systems.

Practical steps include organising peer-to-peer counselling sessions involving local mothers. In her view, nurses and lactation consultants could take on the task of training such activists across all regions of the country.

Oguljahan Atabayeva also proposed launching an information campaign involving the media to raise public awareness of the importance of breastfeeding and to encourage local businesses to create facilities for breastfeeding mothers in the workplace.

‘Strong will and dedication are essential to achieving these goals. Let us work together for the well-being of children, which begins with breast milk,’ concluded the vice-president of the Charitable Foundation.