UNICEF Advocates for Breastfeeding Support Across All Workplaces

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

As the world marks World Breastfeeding Week, UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative, Cristian Munduate, has called on governments both at national and sub-national levels as well as employers of labour to take decisive actions to ensure a supportive and user friendly breastfeeding environment for all working mothers.

The call, which was contained in a press statement made available to journalists in Bauchi, yesterday, by the communication officer of UNICEF Bauchi Field office, Mr. Opeyemi Olagunjus, said it was imperative to highlight the significance of breastfeeding for the health and well-being of children, mothers, and society at large.

Munduate, said breast milk remains the first vaccine and the first food that every child receives at birth and that it stands as a crucial pillar in safeguarding infants against life-threatening infections, supporting optimal brain development in children, and reducing the incidence of chronic childhood and maternal illnesses, ultimately lowering healthcare costs.

According to the UNICEF country representative, breastmilk was not just a super-food and vaccine, but also a smart investment, pointing out that global analysis revealed that elevating rates of exclusive breastfeeding could save the lives of an astounding 820,000 children under the age of five annually, generating an additional income of $302 billion.

The statement further revealed that improved breastfeeding practices could save over 100,000 children’s lives each year, save $22 million in healthcare treatment costs related to inadequate breastfeeding, and generate an additional $21 billion for the economy over children’s productive years by increasing cognitive capacity and preventing premature mortality in the early years.

“There is evidence today that every N1,000 invested in supporting breastfeeding can yield an estimated N35,000 in economic returns for Nigeria,” Munduate added.

While acknowledging the significant strides made in the past two decades in Nigeria to increase exclusive breastfeeding rates, it noted that it remained evident that more needed to be done, as according to Munduate, currently, only seven out of 36 states provide six months fully paid maternity leave and only 34 percent of children aged 0 to 6 months are exclusively breastfed as recommended by UNICEF.

UNICEF lamented that Nigeria was still far from reaching the World Health Assembly 70 per cent target by 2030.

The statement by the UNICEF country representative disclosed that women make up 20 million out of the 46 million workforce in Nigeria and that 95 per cent were within the informal sector, while the formal sector only employs five per cent.

Shockingly, only nine per cent of organisations have a workplace breastfeeding policy, with only 1.5 per cent in the public sector. Women in the informal sector have nearly no support for breastfeeding.