Every year in Ghana, over 128,000 babies are born premature and complications from prematurity are still one of the leading causes of neonatal deaths, Ghana’s Minister of Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, said recently.
“It is during this crucial period of life that human milk serves as a life-saving intervention. Breast milk is not just food, it is medicine,” the minister stressed.
All over the world, more than 700 human milk banks in over 60 countries — with the majority being in North America, Europe, and Brazil — are saving lives, providing pasteurized donor human milk (DHM) to vulnerable infants.
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As part of the government of Ghana’s efforts to improve newborn care, promote exclusive breastfeeding, and scale up neonatal facilities like intensive care and kangaroo mother care units, the country recently launched its first Human Milk Bank.
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Opened by the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), the human milk bank will support newborns who can’t receive milk from their own mothers.
The bank will collect milk voluntarily from breastfeeding mothers but will first counsel and screen donors before the milk would be processed, stored and distributed mainly to preterm and low birth weight babies, GNA reported. Access to the milk is free for families in need though a processing fee would be required.
Akandoh, the Minister of Health, praised the woman behind the initiative — Professor Cecilia Obeng of the Indiana University, School of Public Health- Bloomington — for ensuring that Ghana had access to such a facility that will significantly improve health outcomes.
Dr Abdul-Samed Tanko, the Chief Executive Officer of UGMC, called on healthcare professionals, NGOs, policymakers, partners, professional associations, and community leaders to support the initiative.
“Together, in the long run, we can create a network of human milk banks across Ghana, providing critical care for those who need it most,” he said.
