Kaduna State government in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has established creche at two ministries, departments and agencies of the state.
The creche was established at the Planning and Budget Commission and the State Ministry of Health to enable breastfeeding mothers breastfeed their babies properly.
Commissioner for planning and budget commission, Mukhtar Ahmed, during a one-day “Strategic Dialogue on the Implementation of Creche at Workplaces”, urged continuous support from UNICEF to also establish creche in the rest of the government establishments.
Nutrition specialist at UNICEF in Kaduna field office, Chinwe Ezeife, said breastfeeding within one hour after birth and during the first 6 months reduces infants’ mortality.
According to her, exclusive breastfeeding prevents infectious diseases and other life-threatening diseases in children.
Ezeife said the first breastmilk within one hour of birth serves as the first vaccine which prevents the child from contaminating so many diseases.
Ezeife said “the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in Kaduna stands at 41.1 per cent which shows that there is a progress, Kaduna is at the verge of attaining the global 50 per cent”.
The project manager, Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria, Kaduna State, Dr. Zainab Muhammad-Idris, said “we still have the challenges that the babies need more water and the mother’s end up giving more water than breastmilk. We are talking about zero water starting from early initiation, the first immunization of every child is colostrum which is the first breastmilk”.
Muhammad-Idris who is also the Kaduna president, Medical Women Association of Nigeria said “when a child is well breastfed, he/she stands a better chance of survival, they do well in school.”
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