By Danjuma Attah, Gombe
There is an alarming low level of exclusive breastfeeding culture among women in most of the Northeast States of Nigeria which is posing dangerous infant development challenge of children below five years.
In an effort to change the negative narrative, husbands have been identified as capable of playing a critical role to change the tide and improve infant child health in line with this year’s theme for the World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), “Closing the gap: supporting breastfeeding for a healthier future”.
The latest MICS report (2021) shows that more than 80 per cent of women in the four northeast States of Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba and North Central State of Plateau don’t practice exclusive breastfeeding for their infants from birth to six months of age.
These five States is the area of coverage of the Bauchi Field office of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) who have decided to engage Journalists in an effort to improve infant child health and the statistics thereof.
The 2021 MICS report shows only Adamawa State making an average success of 53.3 per cent while others performed decimally poor with Bauchi having 26.4, Gombe 30.7, Plateau 38.6 and Taraba 33.7 per cent.
UNICEF tagged its two day engagement with Journalists in Yola, Adamawa State as, “beyond Mothers: analysing the role of fathers and family members in promoting exclusive breastfeeding for child survival”.
Exclusive breastfeeding practice is a method of feeding children with only breast milk from birth to the age of six months when other complimentary feeding can be introduced.
According to the UNICEF’s Nutrition Specialist, Philomena Irene, fathers or husbands, as key stakeholders in the home front, have a critical role to play in ensuring mothers exclusively breastfeed their infant babies. This is because in most cultures and traditions around here, fathers have the final day
She therefore tasked journalists, as agents of change, to see themselves as the nutrition specialist who can change the perception of those who are not practicing exclusive breastfeeding to embrace the practice and further become the advocates of exclusive breastfeeding.
She said, “This time around, we want to do a follow-up on the fathers, influencers, grandmothers who are the decision makers in the home, rather than focusing only on the women in regards to breast feeding.
“More than 80 percent of mothers do not practice exclusive breastfeeding in the Northeast states and this is very disheartening. These are not indices that should make one happy.
“The question is what can we do as change agents to turn the narratives. This time around, we want to focus on the gender and expect a different result. We must write inspirational stories, we must write with evidence that is true with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding.
“Now, you are the nutrition specialist and are engaging men to make a difference.You need to tell them the benefits of breastfeeding, know their perceptions about it and progressively create a change in their minds about the practice” She pointed out.
The engagement also had in attendance traditional and religious leaders who gave supporting perspectives on the importance of breastfeeding children.
Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of the baby’s life has been scientifically proven to give and develop infants all the necessary things they need to grow stronger, smarter and brighter, thus, impacting in the socio-economic development of the nation.
