Hyderabad’s milk bank network received a new addition on October 4 with the launch of the Yashodamma Mother’s Milk Bank at Yashoda Hospitals in Hitec City, as organisers of a regional lactation conference announced a wider initiative to strengthen breastfeeding and human milk banking across the city.
The facility was launched by Telangana Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla during the three-day 6th UNICEF South Asia Chapter LAMBCON 2026, held at Yashoda Hospitals from October 2 to 4. The conference brought together more than 1,000 healthcare professionals and delegates from India and abroad to discuss lactation management, human milk banking and breastfeeding.
The conference was organised by the Sushena Health Foundation and Dhaatri Mothers’ Milk Bank in collaboration with UNICEF India and other national and international partners. Its closing session also saw the unveiling of the Deccan Declaration, under which the foundation and its partners announced an initiative aimed at making Hyderabad a “Formula-Free City”.
The initiative will focus on strengthening breastfeeding support and human milk banking infrastructure, according to the report. The announcement places hospitals and milk banks at the centre of a city-level public health effort, rather than treating breastfeeding support as an issue limited to individual families or maternity wards.
Santhosh Kumar Kraleti, founder and general secretary of the Sushena Health Foundation, said India needed more than 1,000 human milk banks across hospitals. He said the country currently had only around 65 to 70 such facilities. The figures cited at the conference indicate a substantial gap between the stated need for hospital-based human milk banking and the existing network.
The new bank at Yashoda Hospitals adds capacity within Hyderabad’s private healthcare system. The supplied report does not specify the facility’s storage capacity, service area, operating protocols or the number of infants it is expected to support. It also does not set out a timeline or administrative framework for granting Hyderabad any formal “Formula-Free City” status.
The city-level proposal is therefore currently an initiative announced by the Sushena Health Foundation and its partners, rather than a reported government designation. Its implementation would depend on how participating hospitals, healthcare professionals and public-health institutions coordinate breastfeeding counselling, donor milk collection, processing, storage and distribution.
Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla described the initiative as a beacon of hope at the conference. UNICEF India Chief for Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka Zelalem Taffesse highlighted breastfeeding as one of the most cost-effective health interventions.
The immediate milestone is the operation of the Yashodamma Mother’s Milk Bank and the follow-up work associated with the Deccan Declaration. Further details on the number of participating hospitals, the initiative’s governance structure and the criteria for Hyderabad’s proposed Formula-Free City status were not provided in the announcement.
