Islamabad: The Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, Sardar Muhammad Yousuf, announced a national breastfeeding movement, describing breastfeeding as a divine command rooted in Quranic injunctions and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad. He said the initiative aims to promote breastfeeding across Pakistan and reduce preventable newborn deaths linked to unnecessary formula feeding.
The minister warned that infants continue to die from diarrhoea, pneumonia and malnutrition when families abandon breastfeeding without medical reason and urged religious leaders to treat breastfeeding as both a health priority and a moral duty. He appealed to ulema nationwide to dedicate time in Friday sermons to explain the religious and social importance of breastfeeding.
The ministry, with support from UNICEF, plans to mobilise scholars and community leaders to counter the growing commercial promotion of formula milk and to revive breastfeeding as a public health and religious priority. Officials stressed that breastmilk substitutes cannot match the nutrition, immunity and long-term benefits of breastmilk.
The consultation was organised by the Ministry of Religious Affairs in partnership with UNICEF and brought together leading scholars including Allama Raghib Naeemi, Allama Tahir Ashrafi, Muhammad Bux Sani and ministry representatives. Attendees included representatives of minority faiths and UNICEF delegates such as Deputy Representative Sharmeela Rasool and Nutrition Chief Anteneh Girma Minas, alongside several health experts.
A joint declaration presented by UNICEF’s Fahmida Khan was unanimously endorsed by the assembled ulema, calling for religious mobilisation, community education, strict regulation of formula milk marketing and the creation of supportive spaces for breastfeeding mothers. The declaration forms the foundation of the new national breastfeeding movement.
Allama Raghib Naeemi highlighted that nearly six million children are born in Pakistan each year and said only about 2,000 of those births medically require formula feeding following the loss of a mother. He urged mosques to provide worship and breastfeeding-friendly spaces so mothers can pray and feed their children with dignity and called for secure breastfeeding areas for working mothers.
Allama Naeemi criticised the rising reliance on formula, noting families spend over 110 billion rupees annually on substitutes and citing Quranic guidance to breastfeed for the prescribed term. He described unnecessary avoidance of breastfeeding as both a social harm and a religious failing.
UNICEF’s Sharmeela Rasool underlined breastfeeding’s role in tackling Pakistan’s nutrition challenges, where around 40 percent of children suffer stunting. She said breastfeeding can reduce newborn mortality, conserve water used in formula preparation and save nearly 900 million dollars currently spent on formula milk.
Allama Tahir Ashrafi highlighted that breastfeeding for two years also acts as natural birth spacing that protects maternal and child health. He urged action against clinics and cosmetic centres that discourage breastfeeding and called for joint conferences of ulema and healthcare professionals to dispel myths and promote early and exclusive breastfeeding.
Health experts at the event, including Dr Saba Shuja, Dr Muhammad Salman and Dr Maqbool Hussain of the Pakistan Pediatric Association, emphasised early initiation within the first hour of birth and outlined the broad protective effects of breastfeeding. They warned that formula feeding increases the risk of infections and long-term health complications.
The consultation closed with a panel of religious leaders and minority faith representatives endorsing a unified national effort to restore breastfeeding as a shared religious, cultural and public health responsibility. The ministry and UNICEF will now move to implement the agreed steps to support mothers and strengthen the national breastfeeding movement.
Read in Urdu: قرآنی تعلیمات کی روشنی میں ماں کے دودھ کی اہمیت اینڈ فروغ کے لئے ملک گیر مہم کا اعلان
