Bahrain hospitals best in world for baby-caring : WHO

Manama : Bahrain is among three countries that has the highest implementation rate of WHO’s Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), revealed a report. The other two countries, Cuba and Fiji, too have the highest implementation rate of BFHI, according to “The 2016 Global Nutrition Report.” 

The BFHI is an initiative launched by the WHO in collaboration with UNICEF in 1991 to improve maternity facilities worldwide and promote and support breastfeeding. 

The BFHI has low implementation worldwide, but Bahrain is one of the few nations to have fully implemented it. In total, only 22 countries have a high coverage for BFHI, 91 countries reported low coverage while 14 countries reported medium coverage. “Only three countries (Bahrain, Cuba, and Fiji) reported 100 per cent BFHI coverage,” the report stated. 

The report said: “It has evidently proved a challenge to sustain the BFHI. Throughout the 1990s, the initiative benefited from strong political support and international investment in training and evaluation. As a result, numerous facilities were certified, leading to significant improvements in breastfeeding.” 

“Globally, an estimated 27.5 per cent of maternity facilities in 160 countries have been certified since 1991. However, a recent estimate for Latin America and the Caribbean shows that although 8pc of facilities have been certified overall, only 2pc had been certified or recertified in the preceding five years,” it explained. “About 40pc of countries had no certifications or re-certifications during that period. In the past five years, only 3.5pc of facility births have occurred in certified facilities, compared with a 25-year average of 15pc.”

The report also ranked Bahrain on prevalence of various diseases among its population. According to the report, Bahrain residents have a high rate of prevalence of diabetes and obesity. About 190 countries were ranked on the prevalence of various diseases, with low ranked countries having the least prevalence of the diseases. 

The nation was ranked 175 in adult diabetes, 150 in prevalence of anaemia in women of reproductive age and 180 on adult overweight and obesity prevalence.