The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said that approximately 34 percent of 0-6 months babies in Nigeria are exclusively breastfed.
It said that the figure shows an improvement in national exclusive breastfeeding figures from the previous 17 per cent but noted that it still falls far short of the WHO target of increasing the exclusive breastfeeding rate to at least 50 per cent by the year 2025.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends early initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of a baby’s birth, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, followed by the introduction of safe, appropriate, adequate, complementary foods from six months while breastfeeding continues up to two years of age or beyond.
A statement signed by NAFDAC’s Resident Media Consultant Sayo Akintola, said the Director General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, told mothers that practising exclusive breastfeeding will enhance the intelligence quotient of their babies.
Speaking during the 2024 World Breastfeeding celebration themed ‘Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All’’, Adeyeye said that breastfed babies have stronger immunity and a reduced risk of suffering many childhood illnesses and infections.
Adeyeye who was represented by the Director, Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (FSAN), Eva Edwards, added that it is also associated with longer-term health benefits including higher Intelligence Quotient (IQ) for infants that were exclusively breastfed by their mothers.
Quoting data from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey of 2018, Adeyeye said that 97 per cent of children are breastfed in Nigeria at one point or the other, stressing that only 42 per cent of them are breastfed within one hour of birth.
She further disclosed that the proportion of children 0-6 months who are exclusively breastfed is 29 per cent, adding that the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey put this figure for exclusive breastfeeding at approximately 34 per cent.
She expressed delight that both figures show an improvement in national exclusive breastfeeding figures from the previous 17 per cent but noted that it still falls far short of the WHO target of increasing the exclusive breastfeeding rate to at least 50 per cent by the year 2025.
She added that to successfully breastfeed babies, mothers need support such as food supplementation, from the health system, family members, community members, and from the workplace.
Adeyeye pointed out that support is critical to the success of breastfeeding because knowledge-sharing, encouragement, support with household chores and creating an enabling environment make the act of breastfeeding easier for our mothers.
She urged nursing mothers to champion optimal breastfeeding of their children to improve the health status of their newborns and lower their risk of breast and ovarian cancers.
The DG noted that it is the collective responsibility of all to ensure that every mother receives the support she needs to make breastfeeding a successful and fulfilling experience.
