The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has recommended exclusive breastfeeding for newborns to improve health status and reduce the risk of ovarian cancer for mothers.
This was stated in a statement by the agency's Resident Media Consultant, Olusayo Akintola, on Sunday in Abuja.
Mr. Akintola said the Director General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, gave the message during the celebration of the 2024 World Breastfeeding Week in Lagos.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Closing the Gap: Supporting Breastfeeding for All.”
Ms Adeyeye was represented by Eva Edwards, Director of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
She said the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends early initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour after the birth of the baby and up to the first six months.
Director General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye
According to her, after six months of exclusive breastfeeding, it should be supplemented with safe and appropriate foods, while continuing breastfeeding until two years or more.
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The director-general said breastfed babies had stronger immunity and faced a lower risk of many childhood diseases and infections.
The NAFDAC chief added that the situation was also associated with long-term health benefits, including higher IQ for babies who were exclusively breastfed.
She said World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated annually to raise awareness and generate support for improved breastfeeding practices for infants and young children.
Ms Adeyeye said the theme for this year's celebration highlighted the need to enhance support for breastfeeding to reduce health inequalities, with a particular focus on breastfeeding in times of emergency and crisis.
She said the issue also highlighted the need to protect the right of mothers and babies to survive and thrive.
She said it was everyone's collective responsibility to ensure that every mother received the support she needed to make breastfeeding a successful and fulfilling experience.
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The director general denounced the lack of support for women to breastfeed their babies optimally.
She cited limited access to trained personnel, empathetic and respectful health advice and counselling throughout the breastfeeding process as part of the challenge.
She revealed that the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey showed that 97 percent of children were breastfed in Nigeria at one time or another.
According to her, only 42 percent of children were breastfed during the first hour after birth.
She also revealed that the proportion of children aged 0 to 6 months who are exclusively breastfed is 29 percent.
“The 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey puts the figure for exclusive breastfeeding at approximately 34 percent,” she said.
She welcomed the fact that both figures show an improvement in the national figures for exclusive breastfeeding from 17 percent previously.
However, she said the figure is still far from the WHO's goal of increasing the exclusive breastfeeding rate to at least 50 percent by 2025.
''This therefore requires action by all of us, in our respective capacities as breastfeeding stakeholders, to accelerate progress and scale up optimal breastfeeding practices in order to achieve the global goal.
“Mothers need support, such as nutritional supplements, from the health system, family members, the community and the workplace. This support is essential for successful breastfeeding,” she said.
She said breastfeeding played an important role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 3, which address eradicating hunger, improving nutrition and promoting health and well-being.
She also revealed that breastfeeding is one of the key ways to reduce mortality in children under five years of age and is the first form of feeding for babies.
(YAYA)