By not
investing in exclusive breastfeeding, Nigeria loses $21b per year or 4.1 per
cent of its gross national income, the United Nations Children Education Fund
(UNICEF)
has said.
Mrs. Ada
Ezeogu, a UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, made this known at a media dialogue on
breastfeeding organised by Child Rights Information Bureau, Federal Ministry of
Information and Culture, sponsored by UK Department for International
Development (DFID) in Ibadan.
She said the
summation of low cognitive development, low IQ and health costs due to
inadequate breastfeeding translated to $21b economic loss.
“Based on
UNICEF fact sheet, the low rate of Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) leads to
103,742 child’s deaths and robs 5. 4 million children yearly of essential
nutrition required to develop properly. Delaying breastfeeding for two to 23
hours after birth increases the risk of dying within 28 days of a baby’s life
by 40 per cent,” Ezeogu said.
According to
her, this has contributed to the country’s problem of chronic malnutrition,
resulting to the current 11 million malnourished under-five children.
Also, Mr.
Geoffrey Njoku, UNICEF Communication Specialist, said the dialogue was aimed at
partnering with the media to increase rate of EBF in the country
In his
remarks, Mr. Tejinder Sadhu, Chief of Field Office UNICEF, Akure, said.
“Breastfeeding
is not one woman’s job. Mothers need assistance and support from their
healthcare providers, families, communities, employers and government, so that
they can provide their children the healthiest start to life. Together we can
support them into breastfeeding, protect and help in ensuring the wellbeing of
our future generations.”
Similarly,
UNICEF Chief Field Officer in Borno State, Geoffrey Ijumba, has said the rates
of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers in the Northeast are still dangerously
low for infants taking refuge with mothers in Internally Displaced Persons’
(IDPs) camps.
Ijumba
revealed this at the weekend during a joint launch of community campaign to
promote and support breastfeeding, to mark this year’s World Breastfeeding Week
(WBW) in Maiduguri.
Borno State
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Abubakar Hassan also said
most of the IDPs in camps are women and nursing over 350, 000 children.
Ijumba
explained that partners promoting the breastfeeding community campaigns are
reaching out through the media by engaging traditional, religious and community
leaders to highlight the benefits of breastfeeding.
“The
breastfeeding campaign is to promote creation of supportive environment for
women to breastfeed their children,” he said.
He noted
that the youngest are the most vulnerable when families are displaced and food
and health services become scarce.
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