The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Enugu Field office has charged mothers to breastfeed their children exclusively for six months with zero water, saying that breast milk contains all the nutrients needed by a new born baby for at least, six months.
The UNICEF Chief of Field Officer, Enugu, Juliet Chiluwe stated this in her address at a two-day Zonal Media Dialogue on the topic ‘World Breastfeeding to Drive Nigeria’s Nutrition Zero Water Campaign for Improved Exclusive Breastfeeding.’ The event was for breastfeeding mothers in four states of Enugu, Benue, Cross River and Anambra.
It was organised by UNICEF in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Anambra State.
Chiluwe, despite pointing out the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, which includes, key to the development and growth of the nation as well as essential in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said that it was the fundamental right of every child to be exclusively breastfed for six months,
The UNICEF Chief expressed concern over the low number of mothers practising exclusive breastfeeding not only in the Enugu Field Office but Nigeria as a whole and called on the media to take it as a responsibility in advocating and pushing for the six months exclusive breastfeeding and zero water agenda to close the gaps and have every Nigerian child exclusively breastfed.
“The media has a key role to play to close the gap. Let women know why they should breastfeed their children exclusively for six months without water and why they should initiative it within one hour after delivery.”
She also noted that “The target is that every child is exclusively breastfed. It is a key contribution to the growth of the nation. It is a fundamental right of every child to be breastfed. It is key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.”
Also in his speech, the Commissioner for Health Anambra State, Ben Obidike, said his government would ensure that every woman delivered in any government health facility must be asked to breastfeed her baby with an hour of birth.
He also spoke on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, pointing out that the effort to close the gap on exclusive breastfeeding must also involve the public and private hospitals to ensure it is seamlessly achieved.
He called for deliberate steps to ensure that mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of deliver saying that Anambra State is on the verge of having that as a policy.
Earlier, the Communications Officer, UNICEF Enugu Field Office, Ijeoma Onuoha-Ogwe highlighted the objectives of the meeting, saying it was a dialogue with journalists, On Air Personalities and other partners to have them champion and increase awareness on the campaign for zero water for exclusively breastfed babies in the first six months after delivery and to ensure subsequent breastfeeding of babies for two years.
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The Communication Officer who also pointed out that only nine percent of organisations had a workplace breastfeeding policy noted that the media remains keys to the campaign to change the narrative and scale up the data on breastfeeding and zero Water Campaign.
While insisting that “the media must also bring to the fore the fact that the type of work or trade we practise as mothers must not hamper the breastfeeding of our babies,” she urged employer and managers to contribute their quota in making breastfeeding and work, work effectively, by providing time and space for breastfeeding and ensuring that breastfeeding mothers have options that reduce separation from their babies after maternity leave.
Speaking on ‘Closing the Gap-Breastfeeding Support for All,’ the UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, the Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, Ngozi Onuora described breast milk as a powerful life-saver and “it is very critical to the long-term health and wellbeing of both the mother and the child.”
She said the promotion of “Start Strong”/ “Zero Water” Campaign was important as the breast milk contains 88 percent water, seven percent lactose, 1 percent protein and 4 percent fat, has enough water for the daily needs in the first six months of the child’s life.
“It also has anti-bodies, anti-allergies and other nutrients that support the overall growth and health of the child. Breastfeeding is a foundation of child survival, health and development and also beneficial for maternal health.”
Onuora noted with worry that only 36 percent of mothers practise exclusive breastfeeding in the country, stressing that it should be a source of worry for all “because the data from the states present at this meeting clearly indicated that none of the states is doing well.”
She however, expressed the optimism that the meeting would help the media alert policy makers of the inequalities and gaps that exist in the area of exclusive breastfeeding “which is critical to the health of the child and the mother.
“We must build the nutritional status of the child by starting with exclusive breastfeeding because a child with a compromised immune system will not be safe even when given vaccine.”
