ISLAMABAD – First Lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho, and parliamentarians from both houses on Monday signed a landmark joint declaration on gender, breastfeeding, and nutrition in Pakistan, pledging coordinated national action to protect child health, empower mothers, and address systemic barriers to optimal breastfeeding practices.

The declaration, endorsed during a Parliamentarian Advocacy Forum jointly organized by UNICEF and the Pakistan Paediatric Association at the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS) in Islamabad, calls for treating breastfeeding as a national investment in health and development.

It urges the enforcement of laws regulating the marketing of breastmilk substitutes, the integration of breastfeeding into healthcare systems, improved workplace protections for mothers, and increased community engagement to shift cultural norms. Lawmakers committed to advancing gender equality and maternal health while ensuring sustainable financing and accountability mechanisms to safeguard Pakistan’s youngest citizens.

Other notable participants of the event included Representative of UNICEF Pernille Ironside, Deputy Representative Sharmeela Rassool, Secretary Women Parliamentary Caucus Shahida Rehmani,  Dr. Anteneh Girma Chief Nutrition UNICEF, Fahmida Khan, Gender and Development Specialist UNICEF, Dr. Saba Shuja, ECD Manager UNICEF, and Dr. Mazhar Nutrition Specialist UNICEF.