By Hassan Zaggi
The United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), have called on governments at all levels to allocate more resource to support and promote breastfeeding policies, especially for the most vulnerable families living in emergency settings.
The UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell and WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, made the call in a joint statement to mark the 2022 World Breastfeeding Week.
The theme of the 2022 World Breastfeeding Week, is Step up for breastfeeding: Educate and Support.
The WHO and UNICEF further called on governments , donors, civil society, and the private sector to step up efforts to prioritize investing in breastfeeding support policies and programmes, especially in fragile and food insecure contexts.
The two UN bodies further called on the governments and other relevant stakeholders to equip health and nutrition workers in facilities and communities with the skills they need to provide quality counselling and practical support to mothers to successfully breastfeed; protect caregivers and health care workers from the unethical marketing influence of the formula industry by fully adopting and implementing the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes, including in humanitarian settings and also implement family-friendly policies that provide mothers with the time, space, and support they need to breastfeed
The statement, however, disclosed that: “In Nigeria, the Exclusive Breastfeeding rate is 29%, meaning that over 70% of infants in Nigeria are denied the aforementioned benefits of breast milk in their formative years. Only 9% of organizations have a workplace breastfeeding policy, indicating that mothers lack the enabling environment to optimally breastfeed their babies.
“The results are high stunting rates of 37% of children Under-5, of which 21% are severe, and wasting among children under 5 years of age (7%). The continue to present severe consequences for the child.
“Breastfeeding also acts as a baby’s first vaccine, protecting them from common childhood illnesses.
“Yet the emotional distress, physical exhaustion, lack of space and privacy, and poor sanitation experienced by mothers in emergency settings mean that many babies are missing out on the benefits of breastfeeding to help them survive.
“Fewer than half of all newborn babies are breastfed in the first hour of life, leaving them more vulnerable to disease and death. And only 44 per cent of infants are exclusively breastfed in the first six months of life, short of the World Health Assembly target of 50 per cent by 2025.
“Protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding is more important than ever, not just for protecting our planet as the ultimate natural, sustainable, first food system, but also for the survival, growth, and development of millions of infants.”
The WHO and UNICEF further lamented that :“As global crises continue to threaten the health and nutrition of millions of babies and children, the vital importance of breastfeeding as the best possible start in life is more critical than ever.
“During emergencies, including those in Afghanistan, Yemen, Ukraine, the Horn of Africa, and the Sahel, breastfeeding guarantees a safe, nutritious and accessible food source for babies and young children. It offers a powerful line of defense against disease and all forms of child malnutrition, including wasting.”
