ISLAMABAD, Nov 17: Federal Health Minister Mohammad Naseer Khan has said that a five-year programme worth Rs20 billion has been approved by the prime minister for mother and child healthcare programme in the country.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of a training workshop here on infant feed counselling at the Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), the minister said that the government has taken a number of steps to improve the health of mother and child, and reduce infant death rate in the country.

Mr Khan said that a programme for mother and child healthcare started recently. Although it reduced the death rate among infants but we are behind to achieving the target set by the ‘Millennium Development Goal.’

He said that annually 0.3 million children die in Pakistan before approaching one year of age, adding that by adopting natural feeding within one hour, the mortality rate could be reduced by 22 per cent.—Online