The first human milk bank in Croatia should open in December this year, and it will be located in the Clinic of Gynaecology and Obstetrics in Petrova Street in Zagreb.

The opening of the bank was announced by the head of the University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Ante Corusic, at a press conference on Monday.

The milk bank will additionally encourage breastfeeding. All donors will be tested, and the milk will be processed, stored and distributed from Petrova all over Croatia, Corusic said.

The government is funding the project with 3 million kuna (€405,200) from the state budget to modernise the space in Petrova. The rest of the equipment will be donated by UNICEF, who supports this project which will ensure the best possible care for premature babies and ill newborns.

The starting capacity of the bank will be some 800 litres of milk per year, and the priority will be children who weigh some 1,500 grams at birth, followed by other premature babies and very ill newborns, said Djurdjica Ivkovic, deputy head of UNICEF Office for Croatia.

To mark the 28th International Breastfeeding Week, celebrated every year on August 1-7, data was presented at the conference which placed Croatia in the top five countries in the developed world in implementing the Baby Friendly Hospitals initiative, started by UNICEF and World Health Organisation to promote breastfeeding.

As a result, some 83 percent children in Croatia are exclusively breastfed from birth until they leave the hospital.

(€1 = 7.39 kuna)

Follow N1 via mobile apps for Android | iPhone/iPad | Windows| and social media on Twitter | Facebook.