Of them, 37000 are newborns while 15000 are under-five children, they added.

The experts said every year a total of 1.20 lakh newborns die within four weeks.

But if all newborns in the country are breastfed within an hour of birth then it will reduce under-five mortality rate by over 20 percent.

The discussion was organised by Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation (BBF) to mark the inaugural ceremony of World Breastfeeding Week at Bangladesh Shishu Academy in the city.

Unicef, Concern Bangladesh, Save the Children UK and USA, Plan Bangladesh, Ibn Sina and Dutch Bangla Bank were the co-sponsors of the programme.

This year the Week is being observed with the slogan 'Breastfeeding: Early initiation in the 1st hour can save more than one million newborn babies'.

Speakers at the discussion said early initiation of breastfeeding protects children from infection, diarrhoea, pneumonia and other respiratory problems.

While delivering his speech Unicef representative in Bangladesh Louis-Georges Arsenault said half of Bangladesh's under-five mortality is among the newborns.

Early initiation followed by exclusive breastfeeding for six months is critically important for a child's survival and healthy growth, he added.

"It should be known that breast milk provides all the nourishment that infants need to grow and stay healthy for the first six months with its positive impact lasting a lifetime, and additional food or fluid can actually be harmful," said Louis-Georges.

He said new mothers and their families must receive information, skills and motivation along with ample care and support through this critical period.

While speaking as chief guest Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Zafar Ullah Khan said complete healthcare services to mothers are yet to be ensured.

But proper breastfeeding could reduce infant mortality that would further lead the country to achieve Millennium Development Goal-4, he added.

In his presidential speech BBF Chairman Prof MQK Talukder said exclusive breastfeeding needs to be increased, and as such we need to develop a strategy to motive people in a simple way.

Criticising the current strategies of National Nutrition Programme (NNP), Prof Talukder said, "We should drastically change the NNP to make it successful.

" We do not need lots of money to reach every newborn babies. The important thing is to develop a strategic planning in this regard," he added.

BBF Secretary Dr SK Roy said optimal breastfeeding can ensure child survival and development.

"The mother's breast is the first incubator for her child and breast milk contain preventives for many diseases of the newborns," Director of Institute of Public Health and Nutrition (IPHN) Fatema Parvin said, adding that the maternity leave should be extended further and every organisation should have a unit like day care centre for working mothers to breastfeed their children.

Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services Shahjahan Biswas said 19 percent of child death could be prevented if the children are provided with exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months.

Stressing the need for breastfeeding to the newborns representatives of other supporting organisations also took part in the discussion.