LGAZ

GOVT URGED TO PROMOTE BREASTFEEDING

While the Country, next Month joins the global community in marking the World Breastfeeding Week, the Government has been urged to improve interventions aimed at promoting excessive breastfeeding in view of safeguarding the plight of children. 

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from the 1^st to the 7^th  of August to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world.

According to the World Health Organization, breastfeeding promotes better health for mothers and children alike.

Increasing breastfeeding to near-universal levels could save more than 800 000 lives every year, the majority being children under 6 Months.

Breastfeeding decreases the risk of mothers developing Breast Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, type 2 Diabetes, and Heart disease and it is estimated that increased breastfeeding could avert 20 000 maternal deaths each year due to Breast Cancer.

Civil Society Organization for Scaling up Nutrition Alliance (CSO-SUN) National Coordinator Mathews Mhuru said in an interview that measures must be put in place to ensure that women are able to breastfeed their babies even at the workplace.