AIMS celebrates World Breastfeeding Week

Dr BR Ambedkar State Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), celebrated World Breastfeeding Week 2025 today with a vibrant and collaborative programme featuring a stakeholder meeting on the theme “Unite for the good” and a formal assessment by Dr Rajinder Gulati for accreditation as a breastfeeding-friendly hospital under the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) guidelines.

This year’s global themes — “Invest in breastfeeding, invest in the future” (WHO) and “Prioritise breastfeeding: Create sustainable support systems” (WABA) — were highlighted throughout the event. The programme underscored the importance of sustainable, multi-sectoral approaches to promote, protect and support breastfeeding from institutional to community levels.

Addressing participants on the occasion, Dr Bhavneet Bharti, Director Principal, emphasised on the long-term health, economic and societal benefits of breastfeeding. “A strong foundation through breastfeeding gives every child a healthy beginning and builds a healthier future for our communities,” she said.

A major highlight of the celebration was the ongoing partnership with Rotary Club Chandigarh, led by president Abha Sharma, in strengthening the Ashneer Milk Bank and Comprehensive Lactation Management Centre (CLMC) at the AIMS in Mohali. The Rotary Club is also pursuing a global grant to scale up community-level awareness, promote donor human milk collection and establish a hub-and-spoke model for reaching underserved populations.

“Rotary Club is committed to ensuring that no newborn is denied the benefits of breast milk. Our vision is to build a nurturing ecosystem through awareness, infrastructure and action,” shared Abha Sharma.