A concluding ceremony, held for health professionals who completed various courses, training and an advanced lactation seminar organised by the Sharjah Baby-Friendly Campaign (SBFC), was held at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs on March 28th, 2015. The SBFC Campaign, created under the generous patronage of His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi and Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, aims to transform Sharjah and the UAE into an entirely baby-friendly environment by the end of this year.
The health professionals in attendance completed the SBFC’s 90-hour Advanced Lactation course, designed to prepare them for their lactation certification exam and to qualify them as specialists in counselling and consultation in the clinical management of breastfeeding problems. They also completed several courses, training and workshops related to infant and young child feeding.
At the ceremony, Dr. Hessa Khalfan Al Ghazal, Director of the Executive Committee of the SBFC, announced the remarkable number of Continued Medical Education certificates (CMEs) given to health professionals who have completed these courses over the past three years. She said, “Since the campaign’s inception in 2012 until present, 25,286 CMEs have been awarded to health professionals in all the Sharjah Baby-Friendly Campaign courses and seminars. The number of health professionals trained in these courses and seminars since 2012 until present is 13,69. We take great pride in these impressive numbers, which reflect the hard work and commitment of our health team to natal health and safe breastfeeding in the UAE, as well as the ongoing Sharjah Baby-Friendly Campaign.”
The ceremony also celebrated the fact that an increasing number of health professionals in the UAE will dedicate themselves to ensuring that all health facilities, nurseries, work places and public areas become healthy places for mothers and children, and that mothers learn the safest breastfeeding practices for their babies. The health professionals who completed these courses, one of which was the WHO-UNICEF Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative programme taught in both English and Arabic, have received one hundred percent coverage from the MOH health facilities in Sharjah.