By Mabinty M. Kamara
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) and its partners, including UNICEF, Action Against Huger, World Vision and Focus 1000 have called on the media to join in the efforts to building a stronger and healthier generation of children through effective breast feeding. The call was mad as part of the World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), which runs from August 1 to 7.
This year’s theme for the WHO designated day is: ‘Empowering Parents: Enable Breastfeeding’.
Breastmilk is said to contain the most important nutrient babies need to grow and develop. It is particularly crucial in the fight against malnutrition among children. This is why WHO recommends exclusive six months breastfeeding for babies from birth.
Figures provided by thee MoHS show that 62% of babies were exclusively breastfed in Sierra Leone in 2016. Although this put the country above the global breastfeeding average of 42%, there is still need to increase the coverage, said Aminata Shamit Koroma, Director of Food and Nutrition in the MoHS. She noted that the goal is to reach 80% by 2030.
“That’s why we want to have a regulation on baby formulas that come into the country and how they are advertised. We don’t want any advertisement that can equate formulas to breast milk,” she told journalists at the press conference hosted by the Health Ministry on the eve of the WBW day – July 28.
In all of this, Ms Koroma said, the media is key in the promotion and sensitization of both fathers and mothers about the relevance of exclusive breastfeeding and to stimulate discussions among media networks.
Unicef Country Representative, Dr. Hamid El Bashir, commended Sierra Leone for its improvement in exclusive breastfeeding, noting that it’s a tremendous achievement that will contribute to the development of children.
“Breastfeeding is one of the best investments in saving lives and improving the health, social and economic development of individuals and nations,” Bashir sad, citing a cent World Bank report which indicate that for every one US Dollar invested in achieving breastfeeding targets, it generates a return of 35 dollars in economic benefits.
Bashir noted that well breastfed babies are more likely to thrive mentally with higher intelligent quotient (IQ), better school attainment and better salary in after years.
Like in many parts of the world, several barriers prevent exclusive breastfeeding in Sierra Leone some, among them single parenting, lack of knowledge regarding malnutrition and widely held myths surrounding breastfeeding and sex.
The Unicef country representative said a strong partnership is needed to tackle these barriers.
“Partnership between the government of Sierra Leone, the UN, non-governmental organizations and the Civil Society at large. We also need a strong partnership between local authorities, health practitioners and communities. Everyone has a role to play and together we can make sure we create the utmost protective and supportive environment for exclusive breastfeeding”, he stated.
Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, CEO of Focus 1000 and representative of the civil society, noted that it is because of the relevance and sensitiveness of breastfeeding that the WBW is not commemorated in a day, but a week. This, he said, was meant to provide sufficient time to discuss the relevance of breast feeding.
Focus 1000, the leading local health NGO in the country, focuses its advocacy on access to healthcare services to women and children under five.
Jalloh said the first 1000 days of the child’s life is very much important in the health and growth of that child and that to effect this, the family, environment and communities need to support the women during lactating period to enable them breastfeed well.
© 2019 Politico Online
