Amrit Kosh', Nepal's first human milk bank, opens in Kathmandu

The first-ever human bank of Himalayan nations was established on Friday by Nepalese President Bidhya Devi Bhandari in order to give premature and other in-danger children access to the maximum benefits of mother's milk when necessary.

The Paropakar Maternity and Women's Hospital is home to the "Amrit Kosh" human milk embankment. As a requirement for nursing in emergencies, the bank has the capability of gathering, pasteurising, inspecting, and conserving safe donors for lactating women.

The Nepalese government, UNICEF, and the European Union worked together to construct the bank's centre. The milk bank has the ability to guarantee newborn-friendly health systems and to provide infants and other at-risk babies access to the substantial amount of breast milk benefits whenever necessary, according to a press release released by UNICEF Nepal. Across 15 million early-maturing infants are born each year all over the world, and Nepal is thought to have 81,000 preterm babies.

K K Shailaja, the state's health minister, opened Kerala's first-stage human milk bank at the Ernakulam General Hospital earlier in February 2021. Infants who are unable to be breastfed by their mothers might get breast milk from the bank as a condition of service. The milk that will accrue from breastfeeding women can be reserved at the bank store for six months.