Odisha Plus Bureau
The World Breastfeeding Week is being observed around the globe from August 1-7. Initiated by WHO in the year 1992, the practice of breastfeeding attain a major policy shift in the realm of child nutrition in 2012 when the World Health Assembly Resolution included increasing the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months to at least 50 percent of newborns by 2025 as the fifth policy target.
Joining the WHO endeavour, Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, will be holding a series of sensitisation and awareness drives in Jharsuguda and the tribal dominated Lanjigarh in Kalahandi.
Vedanta At Ground Zero
The metal giant is going to organise a series of awareness sessions on breastfeeding practices for pregnant and lactating mothers in Jharsuguda and Kalahandi districts during the week (Aug 1-7).
With the theme “Step up for Breastfeeding”, the sessions will be held in partnership with the National Rural Health Mission, Vedanta Hospital (Lanjigarh) and MAMTA-Health Institute for Mother and Child.
The sessions will build awareness on the significance of exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of an infant’s life. Besides, it will provide access to improved care giving practices for pregnant & lactating mothers in Lanjigarh and peripheral areas. The awareness drive will also sensitise breastfeeding and the relationship with child nutrition, said a company release.
In Jharsuguda, the company is conducting awareness sessions at 125 Nand Ghars, the new age anganwadis that act as women and child development centres. The ANM/ASHA workers and medical officers here will highlight the significance and best practices of breastfeeding to new mothers.
Similarly, in Lanjigarh (Kalahandi), doctors from Vedanta Hospital and officials from National Rural Health Mission will share the benefits of breastfeeding. They will also provide guidance on how to take proper care of a child during feeding, besides the need for family participation in ensuring proper health of mother and child. The mothers shall also be given vitamin supplements to help maintain their health during the breastfeeding phase.
Vedanta CSR Fact o File
Vedanta Aluminium’s social interventions in the domains of quality education, sustainable livelihood, women empowerment, health, water and sanitation, community infrastructure reach out to over 130 villages in Odisha, benefiting more than 2.5 lakh people on an annual basis. Awareness sessions such as these are amongst the many health initiatives by the company, which include:
Vedanta Hospital, a 20-bedded state-of-the-art medical facility at Lanjigarh, well equipped with doctors, physiotherapists and visiting specialists, and 24X7 ambulance service for referrals. The hospital gets a daily footfall of more than 150 patients.
Mobile Health Units which provide health services to hundreds of remote villages in both districts every month, providing quality medical consultation and medicines free of cost at people’s doorstep.
Supporting the Maa Santoshi Jankalyan Hospital, the only medical service centre in the remote region of Bankakundru that caters to over 27,000 people.
Tags: #BreastfeedingWeek #VedantaAluminium #Breastfeedingawareness #NationalRuralHealthMission #Mother&ChildWelfare #childnutrition
