KARACHI: The nation’s first Human Milk Bank project was put on hold on Friday by the Sindh Institute of Child Health & Neonatology (SICHN) following the issuing of a new fatwa.
A SICHN representative said in a statement that they would seek additional advice on this issue from the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and the Jamia Darul Uloom Karachi.
A few weeks ago, UNICEF and the Pakistan Pediatric Association (PPA) representatives joined Sindh Health Minister Dr. Azra Pechuho to officially open Pakistan’s first Human Milk Bank and Early Childhood Center that complies with Shariah.
Its purpose was to supply breast milk to preterm infants whose mothers were unable to provide them with the necessary nourishment.”The premature babies are of 34 weeks or less gestation, and they have less than 2 kg of weight,” the spokesman stated, outlining the project’s goal. The majority of mothers giving birth to these kinds of newborns do not produce enough breast milk to meet their children’s nutritional needs.”