Extracts below from a feature article by Olubunmi Oyebanji, Lead Writer at Nigeria Health Watch (a very useful health news service for those with an interest in health in Nigeria). Read online:
https://nigeriahealthwatch.com/better-breastfeeding-for-a-healthier-nige...
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Every year from August 1-7, Nigeria joins over 170 countries globally to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week. This is one of the greatest outreach vehicles for the promotion of optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. The event, formally endorsed by the 1990 WHO Innocenti Declaration and policymakers across the globe, reaffirms commitment to breastfeeding promotion, protection, and support. The 2020 theme is “Support breastfeeding for a healthier planet.”...
Dr Simeon Nanama, Chief of Nutrition at UNICEF spoke on the recent negative impact of COVID-19 on breast milk substitutes. Nigeria has made some progress in increasing the rate of exclusive breastfeeding, going from 17% in 2013, to 29% in 2018. This is on average, a 1% increase per year. While this is unlikely to make Nigeria meet the World Health Assembly target of 50% by 2025, still, exclusive breastfeeding seems to be one of the rare nutrition indicators on which Nigeria is making slow but steady progress...
While experts are working to understand how the pandemic is changing the dynamic of nutrition behaviour in the country, producers and marketers of breast milk substitutes have seen this as an opportunity for strategic and opportunistic marketing of their products which is likely to interfere with optimal breastfeeding practices...
Mass Media: A Channel to Advocate for Exclusive Breastfeeding and Better Nutrition
Dr Shittu Abdu Aguye, Deputy Project Director of the USAID Breakthrough Action Project in Nigeria spoke on the importance of media advocacy to change perceptions and breastfeeding practices. According to the 2018 Nigeria Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), 30 - 39% of women and men aged 18 to 49 years listen to radio, and 23- 34% watch TV at least once a week. This is a huge audience for mass media interventions, he said. Advocates for early and exclusive breastfeeding usually do not have huge budgets to promote content on mass media platforms. Most producers and presenters are not necessarily trained on health matters, so they are not well equipped with the skills to develop content that speaks to exclusive breastfeeding, early initiation of breastfeeding, and other health matters. They require a lot of support for content development and links to resources that they can use to advocate for exclusive breastfeeding and nutrition...
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Best wishes, Neil
Let's build a future where children are no longer dying for lack of healthcare information - Join CHIFA (Child Healthcare Information For All): http://www.hifa.org/forums/chifa-child-health-and-rights
CHIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is the coordinator of the HIFA campaign (Healthcare Information For All) and assistant moderator of the CHIFA forum. Twitter: @hifa_org FB: facebook.com/HIFAdotORG neil@hifa.org
