The chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum, Amb. Olufolake Abdulrazaq, yesterday, hailed the introduction of six months of maternity leave for civil servants in the state.
She gave the commendation at a commemorative event at the Antenatal Clinic of the Kwara State University Teaching Hospital (KWASUTH) in Ilorin, which was organised in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
“We commended Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for approving six months of paid maternity leave for civil servants and establishing crèches in government offices,” she said
The governor’s wife described the development as a progressive step toward ensuring breastfeeding-friendly workplaces.
She also appreciated UNICEF and other development partners for supporting maternal and child health in the state.
“As a government, we are deliberate about issues affecting women and children. The evidence is clear in our policies, our programmes, and our passion,” she affirmed.
She reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to maternal and child health by advocating for exclusive breastfeeding and launching the domestication of the Nutrition 774 Initiative.
Also speaking, Chinwe Ezeife, a nutrition specialist from UNICEF’s Kaduna Field Office, emphasised the need to build sustainable systems that support breastfeeding across homes, healthcare settings, workplaces, and communities.
“Breastfeeding is not just a health issue, but rather it is a national development issue. Only 36% of Nigerian babies are breastfed within the first hour, and exclusive breastfeeding remains stuck at 29%, the same as in 2018. These figures are alarming,” she said.
Ezeife explained UNICEF’s recommended 1-6-24 model—early initiation (within one hour of birth), exclusive breastfeeding for six months, and continued breastfeeding with complementary foods for up to 24 months or beyond.
While over 90% of Nigerian mothers initiate breastfeeding, she lamented that only 10 states (including Kwara) have extended maternity leave to six months.
She said most workplaces lack breastfeeding-friendly policies and facilities, leaving mothers unsupported.
