Nepal opens first human milk ban for at-risk infants

Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari 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 birthweight 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.