The Taraba State Tea Sellers Association (TSTSA) has agreed to go on aggressive sensitisation/awareness campaigns from house to house to enlighten men on the need to support exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for newborns for at least six months.
After a few days of sensitisation, the union restated its stand on the importance and benefits of exclusive breastfeeding.
The chairman of the Association, Mallam Hassan Muhammed, whose shop is located beside Barfa Lodge Magaji, Jalingo, Taraba State capital, and his members confessed that they had not practised exclusive breastfeeding on their children before the enlightenment.
The United Nations International Children Emergency Funds (UNICEF) Bauchi office has since embarked on the enlightenment stating that the number of infants under six months who are exclusively breastfed in Nigeria has increased by more than 10 per cent.
“Hundreds of thousands of babies who have been exclusively breastfed are proven stronger and healthier. Philomena Irene told journalists about exclusive breastfeeding during sensitisation.
The tea sellers said that having heard the benefits of Exclusive Breastfeeding, it became imperative to extend the message to their fellow men to imbibe the culture to save money and make their children stronger.
“You know that we are from the northern part of Nigeria. If a man decides the family, it becomes a policy that all the members will follow. That is why we say we shall extend the message to the men but not their wives.
“We want more enlightenment from the professionals; the messages will make more people believe and put it into practice better. They said knowledge is power. Muhamed stated in the Hausa language.
