The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, says it is the fundamental right of every child to be exclusively breastfed for six months and upward of two years.
The UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Enugu, Mrs. Juliet Chiluwe made the assertion Monday in her welcome address at a two-day Zonal Media Dialogue on World Breastfeeding to Drive Nigeria’s Nutrition Zero Water Campaign for Improved Exclusive Breastfeeding by Breastfeeding Mothers for Infants, in four States of Enugu, Benue, Cross River and Anambra.
Mrs. Chiluwe who expressed concern over the unimpressive rate of mothers practicing exclusive breastfeeding noted that it had become import to close the gap in order to have every Nigerian child exclusively breastfed given its enormous benefits to the baby and the mother alike.
According to her, “the media has a key role to play to close the gap. 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.”
The Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ben Obidike in his opening remark harped 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 far-reaching.
He said: “we must take deliberate steps to ensure that mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of deliver. In Anambra state we are on the verge of having that as a policy.”
Earlier, the Communications Officer, UNICEF Enugu Field Office, Dr. Ijeoma Onuoha-Ogwe while reeling out the objectives of the meeting said it was a dialogue with Journslists and On Air Personslities meant to have them champion the quest to ensure zero water for babies in the first six months after delivery and ensure the subsequent breastfeeding of babies for two years.
The Conmunication Officer who also pointed out that only nine percent of organisations had workplace breastfeeding policy noted that the media remains keys to the campaign to change the narrative and drive up the data on breastfeeding in order to push the Zero Water Campaign.
She emphasised that “we must also bring to the fore the fact that the type of work or trade we practice as mothers must not hamper the breastfeeding of our babies.”
Speaking on “Closing the Gap-Breastfeeding Support for All”, the UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, Mrs. Ngozi Onuora described breast milk as a powerful lifesaver and “it is very critical to the long-term health and wellbeing of both the mother and the child.”
Mrs. Onuora noted with worry that only 36 percent of mothers practice 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 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.
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“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.”
The Deputy Vice Chancellor of Paul University Awka, Prof. Stella Okunna in her presentations described the media as a change agent. She urged the madia to take up the challenge to convince mothers on the far-reaching benefits of exclusive breastfeeding.
She said: “this is a battle that must be fought by the madia. We have the powers to do it. No other profession has that. It is a battle we must win to ensure exclusive breastfeeding for our children.”
Prof. Okunna who noted the fundamental role of the media in agenda setting urged practitioners to adopt known strategies including gatekeeping, status and legitimacy conferral among others to achieve the goal.