The Government of Cross River State has given approval for six months extended pay-maternity-leave for nursing and breastfeeding mothers in the state’s workforce.
This was disclosed by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Henry Ayuk, on Monday in Calabar during a briefing to commemorate the 2024 World Breastfeeding Week.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is celebrated annually between Aug. 1 to Aug. 7, and the theme of the 2024 celebration is “closing the gap: breastfeeding support for all.”
Ayuk said the extension became necessary based on the benefits of breastfeeding to the child, mother and society at large.
He said statistics from UNICEF showed that Nigeria had the second highest burden of stunted children in the world, with a national prevalence rate of 32 per cent of children under 5 years, which was higher than the average of the African region.
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According to him, “an estimated 2 million children in Nigeria are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and only 17 per cent of babies are exclusively breastfed within their first six months of age.
“In Cross River, available data show that 23 per cent of children under 5 years of age are stunted due to acute malnutrition, which is of great concern to the state, hence its emphasis on breastfeeding and child nutrition.
“To further demonstrate the state commitment a matching fund of N100 million to support the purchase of multiple micronutrients supplementation has been provided by the governor to support the nutrition needs of malnourished children and pregnant mothers,” he said.
The commissioner noted that they could now access budgeted funds to implement nutrition programmes, unlike in the previous administration in the state.
He added that apart from meeting the optimal nutrition needs of the child, exclusive breastfeeding helped in the child’s immune system, brain development, prevention of allergies, reduced risk of obesity and maintaining a healthier gut.
On his part, Dr Bong Duke, Vice Chairman of the State Planning Commission (SPC), said they were moving to religious, organisations to advocate for the exclusive breastfeeding of babies in the first six months.
Represented by Mbong Ausaji, Permanent Secretary in SPC, Duke said the policy thrust of Gov. Bassey Otu was to have the most healthy citizens in the nation come 2027.
Similarly, Dr Gloria Archibong, a representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO), said it was important for all residents of Cross River to come together and support the mothers to practice exclusive breastfeeding.
She said if this was done, as time went on, every mother would see the need to actually breastfeed their children exclusively for the first 6 months, which would, in turn, give birth to healthier and more intelligent children in Cross River.
NAN also reports that the SPC in collaboration with the State Ministry of Health and partners were also going round major markets in the city to sensitise the populace on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding.
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