Health Ministry, stakeholders create awareness for exclusive breastfeeding, take campaign to markets

Nigerian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in collaboration with relevant stakeholders have taken the message of exclusive breastfeeding to markets to drum support for exclusive breastfeeding for babies from zero to six months in commemoration of 2026 World Breastfeeding Week in Nigeria with the theme: “Prioritize Breastfeeding: Create Sustainable Support System.

Speaking during the Road Walk and Public Sensitization with the hashtag: “Invest in Breastfeeding, Invest in the Future “at Garki International and Model Markets in Abuja Tuesday, Director and Head of the Nutrition Department at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Ladidi Kuluwa Bako-Aiyegbusi mni stressed the need for all to prioritize exclusive breastfeeding by supporting and encouraging breastfeeding mothers.

According her, “We the advocates of breastfeeding are going on a Road Walk to the Garki International and Model Markets. To sensitize the women and also the men on the benefits of breastfeeding.

“The theme for this year’s breastfeeding week, is that we should prioritize breastfeeding. So, we want everyone, men, women, husband, mother-in-law father-in-law, markets women and men, religious leaders, traditional leaders, employers, co-workers to support every woman that is breastfeeding so that she can breastfeed effectively.

“We want everyone to help her to do the things that she is doing, so that she can affectively breastfeed her child. Breastfeeding is not an easy task. It is a task that needs the woman to be happy while she’s doing it. She needs to be in a comfortable environment, why she’s doing it? She needs to be emotionally stable.

“So, we want the husbands, the men in the house, when your wife is breastfeeding, please help her just sitting in front of her and smiling at her. It will encourage her to breastfeed the child. Help her to do some of the domestic activities in the house. If she has older children, help her to bath, feed them and take them to school. Reduce the work that she is doing when she is breastfeeding for her to breastfeed the baby effectively.

“And we also want the health workers to support every woman that is breastfeeding. The woman once she gives birth, within one hour, the health worker should encourage them to put the baby to breast so that the baby can suck the first tick yellow milk that contains a lot of nutrients and antibody, that is needed for the baby to grow.

“Then we want the health worker, the mother-in-law, the neighbours, co-workers and everybody to support the woman to continue breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months. Not even water should be giving to the baby, because breast milk contains all the nutrients the baby needs to grow well for the first six months. From six months, we want everyone else to support the breastfeeding woman to continue breastfeeding. Now, she will now be introducing the food that the family is eating to the baby in small quantity.

Technical Officer for Nutrition at World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tunga Wakawa, who hailed the theme of this year’s Breastfeeding Week: “Prioritize Breastfeeding: Create Sustainable Support Systems”, said that it places emphasis on wholistic community involvement.

Wakawa said, “We aim to reach a wider audience by sensitizing mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and extended families on the value of supporting breastfeeding mothers”.

“The goal is to improve breastfeeding practices and health outcomes through collective support.”

Focal Person for the National Nutrition Media Team, Christopher Odhomi pointed out numerous activities planned for the week, which runs from August 1 to 7. These include mosque engagement sessions, market sensitization outreach, church visits, and family awareness campaigns.

Odhomi stressed the importance of sensitizing both men and women on their roles in supporting breastfeeding.

His words, “Proper breastfeeding leads to healthy, intelligent children, promotes economic empowerment, and reduces the burden on healthcare systems. We are urging fathers, grandmothers, uncles, aunts, and sisters to support breastfeeding mothers”.

Aminat Mayaki, a breastfeeding mother said that she exclusively breastfed her baby for six months without water or any other food.

“After six months, I introduced soft foods like beans. I learned about exclusive breastfeeding from Nyanya Hospital, and I’m grateful for the guidance I received”.

However, stakeholders were in agreement that exclusive breastfeeding for six months is crucial for providing babies with the nutrients and antibodies they need to grow and develop.