Bauchi State House of Assembly has assured that it is ready to pass six months maternity leave into law to enable breastfeeding mothers enough time to exclusively breastfeed their babies in the state.
The chairman of the State House Committee on Health, Hon Lawal Dauda gave the assurance during a media dialogue on the 2023 Annual World Breastfeeding Week organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Azare.
According to him, exclusive breastfeeding has the potential to save more children’s lives than any other preventive intervention, hence, they need to give their own contribution to improving the health of children in the state.
“As members of the House of Assembly representing our constituents, we will ensure that there are improved breastfeeding practices that have the potential to save the lives of many children under five years,” he said.
He noted that during a recent plenary session, the assembly reviewed the need to extend the current maternity leave from three months to six months.
“We also had a brainstorming meeting with key stakeholders including donor partners on enabling breastfeeding for working mothers at the workplaces across the state.
“I assure you that since the first lady is in the picture of what transpired there, she will encourage her husband to implement that law by God’s grace.
“Our responsibility is to pass a law and I assure you that law will be history and Bauchi will be the first in the North East to pass that law.
“We are going to engage in a public hearing before we pass that law. We will engage the heads of ministries and agencies, religious and traditional rulers so that we can discuss with them since we are representing them,” he said.
The executive chairman, Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (BSPHCDA), Dr Rilwanu Mohammed said that the present administration was passionate about the healthcare of the citizens.
While presenting a paper, a UNICEF Nutrition specialist, Mr Philomena Irene, said that exclusive breastfeeding provides all of the fluid and nutrients needed for optimal growth and development during the first six months.
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