By Ijeoma UKAZU
As Nigeria joins the global community to mark World Breastfeeding Week, experts say, exclusive breastfeeding is an antidote to child malnutrition as it is also life-saving.
Making this known at the flag-off ceremonies of Y2023 World Breastfeeding Week commemoration championed by the first lady of Lagos State, Dr. Claudiana Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, at the Ogudu Primary Healthcare Centre in Kosofe LGA and Ita-Elewa PHC in Ikorodu LGA, the Permanent Secretary of the State Health District II, Dr. Dayo Lajide noted that the fight against malnutrition in children can only be won through the collective efforts of citizens.
Lajide pointed out that this can be done by ensuring that all newborns are exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, followed by adequate complementary feeding with continued breastfeeding for up to two years of age.
The week-long event is usually observed during the first week of August, annually with this year’s theme as: “Let’s make breastfeeding and work, work!”. This year’s campaign focuses on promoting practices that can help support workplace-related breastfeeding in different countries.
Lajide who is superintending over primary health facilities in Shomolu, Kosofe, and Ikorodu local government areas, reiterated that proper and exclusive breastfeeding practice especially during the first six months of a baby’s life can help prevent malnutrition in children.
She disclosed that about 60 percent of under-five mortalities are largely due to malnutrition, caused by poor breastfeeding practices and inadequate complementary feeding.
While noting that breastfeeding remains the most cost-effective strategy to address malnutrition and improve child health indices, Lajide averred that Breastfeeding prevents hunger and malnutrition in all its forms and ensures food security for babies.
According to her, “Breast milk is readily available, pure, safe, and in the right mixture and adequate for babies. Breast milk adds no economic burden on households’ income because it is freely given by nature. It is important to reiterate that breastfeeding is the key to sustainable development goals”, She added.
Addressing the theme of the world Breastfeeding Week, the Permanent Secretary explained that the theme explores the importance of the need to protect, promote and provide support for a breastfeeding-friendly environment for all especially working parents.
Lajide who recounted her breastfeeding experience as a working parent urged employers of labor and employees to create and sustain a breastfeeding-friendly environment for working mothers adding that the benefits and importance of proper and exclusive breastfeeding cannot be overemphasized.
“Breastfeeding is the right of every baby, and an enabling environment remains the exclusive right of both the mother and the child”, She said.
Lajide stated that the Lagos State Government approved six months of maternity leave for mothers and two weeks of paternity leave for the first two pregnancies for fathers as part of efforts to support proper and exclusive breastfeeding practice. She noted that the initiative has contributed tremendously to the exclusive breastfeeding data.
The Permanent Secretary encouraged women of child-bearing age, especially pregnant women and nursing mothers to subscribe to proper breastfeeding practices.
“The survival of our children is our collective responsibility, and so this is a clarion call to action. All hands must be on deck to ensure our nursing mothers are supported to give the meal nature has provided to our children”, Lajide said.
She seizes the opportunity of the breastfeeding week flag-off at Ogudu and Ita-Elewa PHCs to tour the facilities of the health centers, noting and proferring on-the-spot solutions to challenges. She also engaged management and staff of the health facilities, intimating them of Governor Sanwo-Olu’s Lagos Government Free Health directive for PHCs to offer free ante-natal services and delivery as part of the Lagos State Government palliative rollout to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal.
Lajide also paid a courtesy visit to the Chairman of Ikorodu LGA, extending hands of partnership and collaboration between the Local Government and the newly established Health District II.
In the same vein, a statement released by the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative, Cristian Munduate disclosed that in Nigeria, improved breastfeeding practices could save over 100,000 children’s lives each year.
Munduate said it was imperative to highlight the significance of breastfeeding for the health and well-being of children, mothers, and society at large.
She explained that breastmilk is the first vaccine and the first food that every child receives at birth. Breastfeeding stands as a crucial pillar in safeguarding infants against life-threatening infections, supporting optimal brain development in children, and reducing the incidence of chronic childhood and maternal illnesses, ultimately lowering healthcare costs.
The UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative further states that breastmilk is not just a super-food and vaccine; it is also a smart investment.
The statement states that global analysis revealed that elevating rates of exclusive breastfeeding could save the lives of an astounding 820,000 children under the age of five annually, and generate an additional income of US $302 billion.
In Nigeria, improved breastfeeding practices could save over 100,000 children’s lives each year, save US$22 million in health care treatment costs related to inadequate breastfeeding, and generate an additional US$21 billion for the economy over children’s productive years by increasing cognitive capacity and preventing premature mortality in the early years. There is evidence today that every 1000 Naira invested in supporting breastfeeding can yield an estimated 35,000 Naira in economic returns for Nigeria.
While I acknowledge significant strides made in the past two decades in Nigeria to increase exclusive breastfeeding rates, it remains evident that more needs to be done. Presently, only 7 out of 36 states provide six months of fully paid maternity leave and only 34 percent of children aged 0 to 6 months are exclusively breastfed as recommended by UNICEF. Nigeria is still far from reaching the World Health Assembly’s 70 percent target by 2030.
Presently, women make up 20 million out of the 46 million workforce in Nigeria; 95 percent are within the informal sector, while the formal sector only employs 5 percent. Shockingly, only 9 percent of organizations have a workplace breastfeeding policy, with only 1.5 percent in the public sector. Women in the informal sector have nearly no support for breastfeeding.
To facilitate progress, governments and businesses need to play their part by providing the necessary support to mothers and caregivers. It is important to have policies that support breastfeeding, such as paid maternity leave for six months, as well as paid paternity leave, flexible return-to-work options, regular lactation breaks during working hours, and adequate facilities that enable mothers to continue exclusively breastfeeding for six months, followed by age-appropriate complementary feeding while breastfeeding continues to two years and beyond.
In conclusion, investing in breastfeeding support policies and programs in all settings, especially during crises and in food-insecure regions, is crucial to ensure the well-being of our children and the progress of our society. Let us collectively work towards a future where breastfeeding is supported and embraced by all, resulting in healthier generations and a thriving Nigerian workforce.
World Breastfeeding Week is a week-long event observed during the first week of August, every year. The theme for World Breastfeeding Week 2023 is “Let’s make breastfeeding and work, work!” This year’s campaign focuses on promoting practices that can help support workplace-related breastfeeding in different countries.