By Tony Okafor, Awka
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said close to a million children die annually globally because they are not properly breastfed.
The Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, Mrs Ngozi Onuora, stated this during a two-day zonal media dialogue on 2023 World Breastfeeding Week: Zero-Water -organised by the UNICEF in partnership with Anambra State’s Primary Health Development Agency (ASPHCDA), held at Enugu.
Onuora said, ” The practice of feeding extra water in addition to breast milk is wild spread in Nigeria,and in many locations, other foods and liquids are fed prematurely.
She said,”This is harmful,as the extra water not only introduces illness-causing pathogens, but also reduces the child’s thirst and effective suckling.
She lectured on the 2023 World Breastfeeding Week, themed: “Enabling breastfeeding: making a difference for working partners and primary barriers to breastfeeding and prevalence of workplace challenges.”
Four states – Anambra, Benue, Cross Rivers and Enugu participated in the zonal media dialogue.
The UNICEF Nutrition specialist said such deaths could be prevented by using a simple cost-effective method of mothers exclusively breastfeeding their babies in the first six months of life.
According to her, “One of the major challenges of exclusive breastfeeding in Nigeria is that babies are given water before they are six months old, adding “children who are exclusively breastfed are less likely to fall ill.”
She asked breastfeeding mothers to start strong, describing breastfeeding as a powerful lifesaver, adding,”It is also critical to the long-term health and wellbeing of both mother and child.”
She said,”Unfortunately, the majority of world mothers are not able to optimally breastfeed their children, maintaining that, “Only 38% of infants are exclusively breastfed in the first six months and suboptimal breastfeeding practices contribute to roughly 800,000 child deaths annually”.
She said achieving high level of zero- water exclusive breastfeeding would require engaging the entire society, as according to her, talking to mothers alone would be ineffective.
On his part, the Anambra State governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, said adherents of crystal narcotic hallucinogen(Methamphetamine), otherwise called by the street name mkpurummiri, were not properly breastfed.
Represented by the Executive Secretary/CEO, Anambra State Healthcare Development Agency (SPHCDA), Pharm Chisom Uchem, Soludo stressed on optimal breastfeeding practices.
The state government maintained that newborn babies would not need water in their first six months.
The governor tasked women to always breastfeed their babies exclusively for at least six months before introducing water and other foods, tracing some of the causes of social vices in society to poor and inadequate breastfeeding of babies.
The governor’s representative( Uchem) maintained that, “Breastfeeding gives children the healthiest start in life, adding “breast milk stimulates brain development, and protects a woman’s health.
Uchem said,”When mothers breastfeed, everyone benefits. Breastfeeding leads to healthier families and a smarter workforce.”
She recommended exclusive breastfeeding without any other food for the first six months of life, starting at least an hour after birth.
In her lectures, the Communications Officer,UNICEF, Enugu Field Office and Media, Dr(Mrs) Ijeoma Onuoha Ogwe, said, “Making breastfeeding at work work makes society work.”
She added,” Breastfeeding provides vital health and nutritional benefits for children with positive lifelong impacts; building healthier populations – and workforces- for the future.”
She tasked policymakers, employers and managers to amongst other measures legislate at least 18 weeks or more than six months paid maternity leave; ensure all women have access to maternity entitlements, including those in the informal sector or on limited contracts as well as providing options that would reduce separation of women from their babies after maternity leave such as: flexible work schedules; on-site childcare; teleworking; part-time work and letting mothers bring their babies to work.
The participants on the occasion later retired to group work wherein media strategies, formats for modalities for future field goals where adumbrated.
