How Tajikistan’s religious leaders are improving maternal and child health by engaging fathers.
To encourage more women in Tajikistan to breastfeed, educating the father is just as important as the mother, according to Domullo Shermuhamad Qaraev, a religious leader in Tajikistan.
“In Tajik families, the main decisions lay on the man’s shoulders,” said Domullo Shermuhamad, who lives in the Khroson district of Khatlon region with his wife and four children.
“Often men worry about their babies’ diseases quietly and deeply and sometimes don’t know what to do to prevent these diseases.”
USAID supports the Government of Tajikistan in improving the health and nutrition of women and children in the 12 western districts of the Khatlon region, which borders Afghanistan. Through the Healthy Mother, Healthy Baby program, USAID helps families adopt better maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition practices during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, such as breastfeeding.
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