Nigeria’s Exclusive Breastfeeding Rate Unacceptably Low at 29%, Says CS-SUNN

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

A leading advocacy group against child malnutrition in Nigeria, the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has said that the country is still far below the World Health Organization’s global target of at least 50 percent exclusive breastfeeding rate for the first six months of life by 2025.

Citing statistics from the 2018 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), the organisation said that exclusive breastfeeding rates in Nigeria are still unacceptably low, at just 29 percent.

On the issue of malnutrition, CS-SUNN said that several barriers have continued to impede the effective implementation of plan to combat the scourge including inadequate financing, fragmented inter-sectoral coordination and poor accountability.

According to CS-SUNN’s trend analysis of nutrition budget in Nigeria (2019-2022), only 0.47 percent of the national health budget was allocated to nutrition in 2022, a figure that starkly contrasts with the recommendations from the World Bank for low and middle-income countries to allocate at least 5% of their health budgets to nutrition interventions.

The Co-chair of CS-SUNN, Aji Robinson who represented the Executive Secretary Sunday Okonkwo stated this in her presentation at the CS-SUNN & FHI360 Alive and Thrive at a Media Roundtable on Strengthening the Implementation of the National Multi-Sectoral Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition (NMPFAN) with Focus on Increased Nutrition Funding and Reinforcing the Breast Milk Substitute (BMS) Marketing Code in Nigeria held in Abuja on Tuesday.

Robinson said that, “29 percent breast feeding rate in Nigeria contrasts with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global target of at least 50 percent by 2025. exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life”.

She said that exclusive breastfeeding practice up to six months of life and continued breastfeeding up until two years with adequate complementary feeding has been proven to improve child survival rates and nutrition outcomes.

In the statement, CS-SUNN expressed concern that the aggressive promotion of breast milk substitute formula has continues to undermine the practice and benefits of exclusive breastfeeding.

It said that Breast Milk Substitute Marketing Code, recently launched by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) was aimed at protecting breastfeeding by regulating the marketing of breast milk substitutes and improving infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices in the country.

“Nevertheless, despite its endorsement and enforcement roles assigned to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), its full implementation is hampered by weak compliance and enforcement mechanisms, coupled with aggressive marketing practices by manufacturers of BMS,” it said.

CS-SUNN said that the National Multi-Sectoral Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition (NMPFAN) launched in 2021 is a comprehensive strategy aimed at tackling malnutrition in Nigeria through coordinated efforts across key sectors such as health, agriculture, education, social protection, water and sanitation, information and other key line Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

It said that according to the National Food and Consumption Micronutrient Survey (NFCMS), 2021 the prevalence of stunting is 33.8 percent and this is significantly higher among children with iron, vitamin A, zinc and vitamin B12 deficiencies – conditions that increase the risk of mortality, illness, and hindered cognitive and physical development.

“In addition, the survey also shows that 55 percent of children aged 6-23 month consume unhealthy foods,” it said.