The Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS) will mark the World Breastfeeding Week 2024 – from August 1 to 7 – with a panel discussion to be inaugurated by Vice-Chancellor Mohanan Kunnummal here on Wednesday.
The School of Public Health, under KUHS, in collaboration with the College of Nursing is organising the event. The inaugural ceremony will be followed by the panel discussion, on the theme ‘Closing the gap: Breastfeeding support for all’.
Kerala’s breastfeeding initiation rate, which was 55.4% in 2005-06 (NFHS data), has been steadily improving and according to the latest NFHS 5 data (2019-21), it stands at 65.7%. This is much better than the national average of 41.8%.
Kerala has shown slight improvement as far as the exclusive breastfeeding rate is concerned and according to NFHS 5 data, it stands at 55.5%. This however is lesser than the national average of 63.7%
The findings of a research project on breastfeeding promotion done at the School of Public Health will also be disseminated at the event.
Published - August 06, 2024 11:21 pm IST