Kathmandu, March 6 -- In a bid to provide breast milk to vulnerable newborns, the Ministry of Health and Population is working to set up human breast milk banks in all seven provinces. The United States government will provide the required funds, officials say.

"We have started the necessary preparations," said Lila Bikram Thapa, chief of the Nutrition Section at the Family Welfare Division under the Department of Health Services. "We hope that setting up one breast milk bank in every province will help save newborn lives and also promote exclusive breastfeeding practices."

Currently, the Thapathali-based Paropakar Maternity and Women's Hospital, and BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS), Dharan have been running human breast...