- Wants Govt. To Promote Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Nursing Mothers
By ‘Dotun Akintomide
Scaling up breastfeeding by nursing mothers could annually prevent approximately 800,000 deaths of children under the age of 5 years, the Founder-President, Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WFA), H.E. Mrs. Toyin Ojora-Saraki has said.
According to a media release made available to The New Diplomat by her foundation’s media team ahead of the World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) 2017, Mrs. Saraki stated that “in Nigeria alone, 98% of new mothers initiate breastfeeding; however, by six months, only 25% of them are still exclusively breastfeeding.
“Breast milk is the baby’s natural food, easily digested, and containing all the nutrients the baby requires for the first six months. It reduces the risk of infections and poor growth, and it is also a perfect way to bond with the baby. Breastfeeding is good for the mother, too; it lowers the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Mothers who breastfeed find it easier to lose the weight gained during pregnancy.”
Launched in 2015, the WFA’s MamaCare Antenatal and Postnatal Programme through its qualified midwife lactation counselors has reached over 6,000 women with approximately 718 weekly attendance across the 3 areas (Lagos State, Kwara State and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja).
“To date, all women have made over 48,000 contacts with the midwives in the past two years alone. One of our main focus areas is teaching mothers during pregnancy how they should breastfeed; the correct positioning; for how long; and that they should initiate breastfeeding within the first 30 minutes of giving birth.”
In a global press call convened by UNICEF and the WHO, to advance the advocacy of the Global Breastfeeding Coalition, featuring advocacy commitments from the Wife of Nigeria’s President, H.E. Mrs Aisha Buhari and the Indonesian Health Minister, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, through its Founder-President and Wife of the Senate President, H.E. Mrs Saraki, unveiled plans to take its best practices to scale in more Nigerian states.
Mrs. Saraki, while responding to a recent BBC’s inquiry as to Nigeria’s efforts to scale breastfeeding promotion interventions during the global press call stated: “To tackle the critically important problem of poor nutrition among infants and young children in Nigeria, we have assembled a world-class team that is as diverse as the issue at hand.”
“The proposed team combines expertise and experience from public and private sectors, marketing and academia, and implementers and thought leaders. Our technical approach will harness formative research to develop a communications strategy and media plan that can be executed through a range of channels, including interpersonal communications (IPC) and mass media,” she stated.
Mrs. Saraki, in her advocacy support for Global Breastfeeding Coalition’s Call, marshalled her thoughts along action priorities such as: Increased investment in programmes and policies that promote, protect and support early and exclusive breastfeeding; International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes; Maternity protection in the workplace; and Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative.
According to her, other key focuses should include breastfeeding counseling and training, community support programmes, as well as tracking of progress on policies, programmes, and resource allocation.
