As part of activities marking the World Breastfeeding Week, the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) have referred more than 92,000 mothers with breastfeeding challenges for maternal, infant and child nutrition.
Several lactating mothers were equally educated by the development partners on the importance of breastfeeding a child up to six months after birth.
UNICEF chief of Maiduguri Field Office, Mr Samuel Sesay, said UNICEF would continue to support the Borno State government and the entire Northeast to ensure that children survive and thrive. He spoke yesterday in Maiduguri, the state capital.
According to him, the World Breastfeeding Week is an annual opportunity to assess challenges and progress recorded on the path of exclusive breastfeeding.
He said the quality of the gathering showed the importance that the people and government of Borno State attached to child nutrition and overall wellbeing.
Among other interventions, Sesay said UNICEF is providing micronutrient powders and life-saving therapeutic food to children with acute malnutrition while more than 490,000 mothers and caregivers have been reached with personal hygiene, nutrition and COVID-19 prevention information.
Highlighting the importance of breastfeeding to mothers, WHO emergency manager for Maiduguri, Mr Richard Lako , said fewer than half of all newborn babies are breastfed in the first hour of life, leaving them more vulnerable to disease and death.
He said only 44 percent of infants are exclusively breastfed in the first six months of life, short of World Health Assembly target of 50 percent by 2025.
He said breastfeeding also acts as a baby’s first vaccine, protecting them from common childhood illnesses.
“Appropriate infant feeding can save lives and ensure optimal growth and development. I therefore urge you all to join our collective call for the support, promotion, and protection of breastfeeding,” Lako said.
