WITH his aim to give back to the community, Kapampangan businessman Jess Nicdao, through the Rotary Club of Western Pampanga, recently donated the first human milk bank in Pampanga.
Located at the Jose B. Lingad Regional Memorial Hospital (JBLRMH) in the City of San Fernando, the P4.5-million milk bank is the first human milk bank to be operated by the local government unit here.
Nicdao noted that the project was particularly significant to him and his organization as they are committed to extend help through quality health programs especially for mothers and their children.
“We pioneered this project because we believe that if you do not have a healthy child, you do not have a healthy individual in the future,” he said.
“And breastfeeding is one of the ways to provide infants a healthy mind and body. Unfortunately, while a lot of mothers produce excess milk, there are also many mothers who do not produce milk at all,” he added.
Nicdao furthered that the human milk bank is the solution for the mothers experiencing breastfeeding difficulties.
He said that the donated milk bank is fully equipped with imported equipment, including a human milk pasteurizer and storage made in England.
“This facility brings up our community-based breastfeeding advocacy. Mothers will have the chance to save lives and encourage other mothers not to rely on ‘am ng kanin’ and powdered milk as they are not as nutritious as mother’s milk,” he said.
Moreover, Nicdao also highlighted that this facility will also help poor but deserving mothers.
“According to our research, normally, Filipino families consume a lowest of P4,000 per month for commercial milks bought in drugstores and supermarkets. So, how can a low income family afford this much for their baby’s milk supply? This facility is the solution for them, as this is actually intended for our less privileged kababayans,” he emphasized.
He noted that operations of the facility will be handled by JBLRMH staff who will soon undergo proper training in the United Kingdom.
“We have a memorandum of agreement with the JBLRMH, that they will be in charge of manning the facility. We will send some of their staff to UK next month to train. That’s also funded by the Rotary,” he said.
He added that they donated the human milk bank to the said hospital as it is the biggest government-owned hospital north of Manila.
For her part, JBLRMH Human Milk Bank Supervisor Alma Canlas, extended her gratitude for the said donation.
“We are truly grateful to our partners in putting up this facility. Breastfeeding is one of our advocacies and with this milk bank, we can save more infants and provide them adequate nourishment. Thank you, Sir Jess Nicdao and the whole Rotary Club of Western Pampanga for making this human milk bank possible at Jose B. Lingad Regional Memorial Hospital,” she said.
