Muscat – The Ministry of Health (MoH) on Sunday launched the national guide for the baby-friendly health facilities initiative in primary healthcare institutions, alongside a specialised training workshop for healthcare professionals, with wide participation from health sector leaders and representatives of government entities.

Speaking at the event, Dr Sami bin Sulaiman al Farsi, Director of the Women’s and Children’s Health Centre at the Ministry of Health, said breastfeeding is a cornerstone of child health from the first moments of life. He noted its role in strengthening immunity, supporting healthy growth and preventing disease, in addition to its positive impact on the physical and psychological health of mothers.

Dr Farsi said primary healthcare institutions form the first line of support for mothers and families by providing awareness, counselling and continuous guidance. He explained that the national guide serves as a unified scientific and practical reference aimed at enhancing the performance of healthcare workers, standardising professional practices and ensuring the provision of breastfeeding-supportive services in line with international standards.

The guide also supports continuity of care from pregnancy through childbirth and into the community, contributing to stronger integration across different levels of healthcare.

The baby-friendly health facilities initiative is a global programme launched by the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children’s Fund in 1991 to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. Oman was among the first countries to adopt the initiative in 1992, with all hospitals at the time receiving international accreditation, which was maintained until 1999.

As part of efforts to revive the initiative, the Department of Nutrition implemented a comprehensive national plan in two phases. The first phase, carried out between 2020 and 2023, focused on hospitals and included the launch of a national policy, field visits to hospitals across the Sultanate and the formation of a central national evaluation team trained with support from UNICEF. These efforts resulted in a number of hospitals obtaining Baby-Friendly Hospital accreditation.

The launch of the national guide for primary healthcare institutions marks the second phase of the programme, aimed at ensuring continuity of breastfeeding support beyond hospital settings and strengthening links between healthcare services and the community.

Coinciding with the launch, the ministry organised an in-person training workshop attended by around 170 healthcare workers. The workshop focused on explaining the guide’s provisions, discussing implementation challenges, outlining accreditation assessment mechanisms and reviewing tools to assess healthcare workers’ knowledge and competence in breastfeeding support. The workshop was organised in cooperation with Petroleum Development Oman, with participation from WHO, UNICEF and senior health officials.