Hyderabad human milk bank opens as city targets formula-free status
The Yashodamma Mother’s Milk Bank has launched at Yashoda Hospitals as part of a campaign to eliminate formula milk from the city.
A new human milk bank has opened at a private hospital in Hyderabad, marking the first major step in an ambitious campaign to make the city entirely formula-free.
The Yashodamma Mother’s Milk Bank was launched at Yashoda Hospitals in Hitec City by the Telangana Governor, Shiv Pratap Shukla. The facility aims to provide safe, pasteurised donor breast milk to infants who do not have access to their own mother's milk.
The Deccan Declaration
The launch coincided with the conclusion of LAMBCON 2026, a three-day international conference on lactation management and breastfeeding. At the event, the Sushena Health Foundation and the Dhaatri Mothers’ Milk Bank jointy unveiled the "Deccan Declaration".
This declaration outlines a collaborative framework to turn Hyderabad into a "Formula-Free City". The strategy relies on expanding donor milk banking infrastructure and providing better clinical support for breastfeeding mothers across the city's healthcare network.
Organisers said the initiative, which is backed by UNICEF India, hopes to establish a model that other Indian cities can replicate to improve infant nutrition and reduce neonatal mortality rates.
A severe shortage of milk banks
While the new facility in Hitec City is a step forward, public health advocates warned that India remains severely underserved when it comes to donor milk infrastructure.
Santhosh Kumar Kraleti, the founder and general secretary of the Sushena Health Foundation, said that India needs more than 1,000 human milk banks integrated into its hospital systems to meet national demand. Currently, only about 65 to 70 of these facilities are operational across the entire country.
Governor Shukla described the Hyderabad project as a "beacon of hope" for maternal and child healthcare in Telangana.
Zelalem Taffesse, the UNICEF India chief for Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka, argued that prioritizing donor milk over commercial formula is also highly economical. He described breastfeeding and donor milk usage as some of the most cost-effective health interventions available to modern medicine.
LAMBCON 2026, which ran from October 2 to 4, brought together more than 1,000 healthcare professionals and delegates from India and overseas to discuss solutions to the country's infant nutrition gap.
Key numbers
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Required human milk banks in India | 1,000+ | Santhosh Kumar Kraleti, founder of Sushena Health Foundation |
| Existing human milk banks in India | 65 to 70 | Santhosh Kumar Kraleti, founder of Sushena Health Foundation |
| Conference attendance | 1,000+ | LAMBCON 2026 organisers |
In this story
| Name | Role in the story |
|---|---|
| Yashodamma Mother’s Milk Bank | The new donor milk facility launched in Hyderabad. |
| Yashoda Hospitals | The private hospital group hosting the new milk bank and the conference. |
| Santhosh Kumar Kraleti | Founder and general secretary of the Sushena Health Foundation who provided statistics on India's milk bank shortage. |
| Sushena Health Foundation | Co-organiser of the conference and author of the Deccan Declaration. |
