The Wife of Enugu State Governor, Mrs Nkechinyere Mbah, says that the Enugu Multi-Sectoral Plan on Food and Nutrition is ready for implementation to check stunted growth and underweight infants and children.
Mrs Mbah said this on Friday while flagging-off a two-day advocacy sensitization meeting for Women in Policy Positions and Wives of Political Leaders in Enugu State.
The theme of the meeting was “Zero Water and Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes”.
The sensitization was organised by Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ENS-PHCDA), in collaboration with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF).
The governor’s wife, represented by the Commissioner for Children, Gender and Social Development, Mrs Ngozi Enih, noted that the multi-sectoral plan would soon be implemented to ensure that the state kicks out malnutrition even from the on-set of life.
According to her, some critical policies the government have already been implemented to show that commitment towards infant and maternal protection is “the free child and maternal care program”.
“Another program is the establishment of crèche to support adequate six-month exclusive breastfeeding by nursing mothers for civil servants,” she said.
The governor’s wife noted that she remained committed to seeing children in Enugu State feed well and developed to maximum potential despite the severe impact of food scarcity ravaging the world, especially Africa, with Nigeria making the top list.
“Today, through our collaborations and collective efforts, we will achieve a process that will, in turn, produce responsible individuals who will take over our society in the near future, and this will make for a better society,” she added.
Speaking, Dr Ifeyinwa Ani-Osheku, Executive Secretary, ENS-PHCDA, noted that one of the most effective ways to stimulate a healthy workforce starts with maternal and child wellbeing being propelled by exclusive breastfeeding.
Ani-Osheku noted that the best immunization for any child leading to a healthy social and psychological development is solely exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and after that mixed with soft food for another one year.
According to her, there is the need to push to give breastfeeding mothers compulsory paid maternity leave for six months and the father a compulsory paid paternity leave to him assist his nursing wife and bond properly with the new-born child.
She said: “The objective is to create awareness among women in policy-making positions on the burden of malnutrition and mobilize them as change agents in the state.
“To identify opportunities and barriers to implementation of the state Strategic Plan and other nutrition policies in the state.
“And to develop action plans on demand creation for investment in nutrition, steps to support and roll out complementary infant and young child feeding.”
The executive secretary noted that exclusive breastfeeding had a lot of great benefits, which are: reduced illness of the infant; build-up immunity of the infant; reduced out-of-pocket expenditure of the family; and checking of breast and ovarian cancers.
She also called for the support of family members, colleagues and co-workers, bosses and employers of labour for all breastfeeding mothers around them.
Corroborating, Mrs Ngozi Onuora, Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF, Enugu Field Office, noted that the exclusive breastfeeding rate had continued to decline for some years in Enugu State, adding: “It moved from 37 per cent in 2018 to 11 per cent in 2021”.
“What this means is that 89 per cent between ages of 0 and six months are denied the uncontested benefits that come with exclusive breastfeeding in the state,” Onuora said.
She noted that UNICEF was committed to partnering with governments, NGOs, and other stakeholders to implement evidence-based interventions that address the root causes of malnutrition in infants and children.
“These include promoting exclusive breastfeeding; ensuring access to nutritious foods; and providing essential health services to mothers and children. There are, however, great expectations for 2024 and beyond.
“Therefore, I urge each of you, in your influential positions, to champion policies that prioritise maternal, infant and young child nutrition,” she said.
One of the participants, Mr Finian Ali, State Coordinator, Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria, Enugu State Chapter, said that there was a need for fathers to support nursing mothers and children with adequate and balanced diet.
Ali noted that the baby and mother needed the emotional and socio-economic support of the father as well as his buy-in to ensure that the family did not lack during exclusive breastfeeding periods.
“The father, during the period of exclusive breastfeeding, should help in some house chores to reduce the burden on the nursing wife and create time for the exclusive breastfeeding mother to feed the baby properly,” he said.
Lectures delivered at the meeting included: Overview of the Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitute by Mrs Ogechi Ude from NAFDAC; and Effective Breastfeeding/Optimal Infant and Young Child Nutrition Among Working Mothers: the need for extended paid maternal and paternal leave in Enugu State, among others.
The highpoint of the meeting was the presentation of an Award of Excellence on Positive Change and Community Development on the governor’s wife, Mrs Mbah, for her strong commitment to infant, child and maternal well-being in the state.
