By Sunday Ogli, Makurdi
THE United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, is set to kickstart campaign on Zero Water and optimal exclusive breastfeeding for babies.
The UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Enugu, Mrs. Juliet Chiluwe who disclosed this Thursday in Enugu during a Zonal Media Dialogue on the 2023 World Breastfeeding Week, WBW and Zero Water Campaign organised in collaboration with the Anambra state government for participants from Enugu, Anambra, Benue and Cross Rivers states.
She explained that the four months campaign would be taken to the nooks and crannies of the communities to ensure that the massage got to mothers and the relevant authorities.
Mrs. Chiluwe who was represented by the Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF Field Office Enugu, Mrs. Ngozi Onuora, urged the media to rally round the global organisation by driving the campaign which would run for four months in order to engender behavioural change from all sector on the issues of breastfeeding.
She urged all stakeholders to work as a team to sensitize the general public for a positive change in breastfeeding practices for the benefit of the Nigerian child.
Her words: “the Zero Water campaign will take off after the World Breastfeeding Week and the massage will dwell on sustained optimal exclusive breastfeeding for the the health of the babies.”
She charged participants to “develop advocacy messages that would provoke normative behaviour change from the masses; sensitize them and give them the right information at everytime.”
In his opening remarks, the Governor of Anambra state Chukwuma Soludo, represented by the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of Anambra State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Mrs. Chisom Uchem, said the timing of the meeting was apt.
Governor Soludo noted the important role exclusive breastfeeding plays in the lives of babies and children.
According to him, “because of the critical impirtance of breastfeeding to the health of the baby, we must all ensure that all hands are on deck to scale up breastfeeding in our various communities.”
Speaking earlier on the meeting objectives and outcomes, the Communication Officer, UNICEF Field Office, Enugu, Dr. Ijeoma Onuoha-Ogwe, harped on the importance of the first 59 months in the lives of babies and children and the of breastfeeding
She said the approach the WBW and four months long Zero Water Campaign includes conversations at all levels on the importance of workplace support for breastfeeding, the benefits of breastfeeding-friendly workplaces, and the impact on working parents.
Dr. Onuoha-Ogwe said the campaign would utilize identified media channels to encourage employers to adopt supportive practices such as providing designated breastfeeding areas, flexible work schedules, and extended maternity leave.
Others approaches, she said, include media uptakes featuring personal and success stories of breastfeeding working parents to emphasize the importance of workplace support.
“Media platforms conduct live programmes (vox-pop) to recognize organizations implementing breastfeeding-friendly workplace policies and practices as examples of best practices.
“And the use of the event as a high-profile launch event to kickstart the 2023 World Breastfeeding Week,” she stressed.
On the objectives of the campaign, Dr. Onuoha-Ogwe said it is to “pitch the theme ‘Enabling breastfeeding: Making a Difference for Working Parents” for 2023 WBW among journalists, media practitioners and Government; strategize with media on ways of increasing optimal breastfeeding practices among nursing mothers and care givers.
“The essence is also to ensure that journalists in Benue, Anambra, Enugu and Cross Rivers states galvanized action for sustained breastfeeding practices by families, employers, government, persons in positions to take favourable actions in the interest of women and children as well as taking the initiatives for improved nutritional actions among others.”
In her presentation on Zero Water Campaign-an overview, the Nutrition Specialist, noted that “breastfeeding is a powerful life-saver. It is also a critical to the long term health and well-being of both mother and child.
“Unfortunately, the majority of world’s mothers are not able to optimally breastfeed their children.
“In fact, only 38 percent of infants are exclusively breastfed in the first six months and suboptimal breastfeeding practices contribute to roughly 800,000 child deaths annually.
“The 2017 World Breastfeeding week marks the 25th Anniversary of WBW with the theme ‘Sustaining Breastfeeding Together’ to draw the attention of advocates, activists, decision-makers, media and young people for long-term partnership to protect, promote and support Exclusive Breastfeeding for the first six months of Life without water.
“The practice of feeding extra water in addition to breastmilk is widespread in Nigeria, and in many locations, other foods and liquids are fed prematurely. This is harmful, as the extra water not only introduces illness-causing pathogens, but also reduces the child’s thirst and effective suckling.
“Over the years, the Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) rate has shown only marginal increase from the very low rate of two percent in 1990 to 17 percent in 2013 to 29 percent in 2018 as reported by Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) to 34 percent in 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys MICS.”
