Experts urged policy makers to enact legislation on exclusive breastfeeding

From Umar Dankano,Yola

Stakeholders and health experts have charged policy makers in the country to as a matter of utmost importance provide condusive atmosphere for exclusive breastfeeding in working class nursing mothers.
Disclosing the resolution during a media dialogue organised by UNICEF Bauchi Office in commoration of the 2023 World Breastfeeding week held in Azare town on the need for government to enact legislation for according nursing mothers six months leave for exclusive breastfeeding from their places of work.
In his virtual presentation,Dr.Tusar Rane, Chief, UNICEF Bauchi field office said UNICEF as a development partner is ever ready to contribute in projects that ensures the well-being of children globally.
Dr.Rane charged participants at the media dialogue to create adequate awareness on the exclusive breastfeeding by mothers noting that it contained all important classes of food for growth development of a child .
He explained that the breastfeeding protects a woman health as well as provides all the fluid and nutrients needed for optimal growth and development during first six months.
Collaborating in a similar direction,Mrs Philomena Irene,UNICEF Nutrition Specialist and Dr.Salisu Maiwada Abubakar,a resource person during the dialogue pinpointed that insufficient policy environment, sociocultural norms, poor family support, inadequate knowledge on the benefits of breastfeeding and baby unfriendly workplaces are intricacies of balancing work and breastfeeding that needed to be addressed.
They also observed that available researches have indicated that exclusive breastfeeding is very low in the Northwestern and Northeastern parts of the country clocking about 22% on the aggregate while Nigeria as a nation is around 29% coverage.