The Wife of the Sokoto State Governor, Mariya Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has said there is a dwindling breastfeeding rate in Nigeria which is contributing to the rise of malnutrition in children, putting exclusive breastfeeding at twenty-nine per cent.
The Governor’s wife called on nursing mothers in the state and Nigeria as a whole to commit to exclusive breastfeeding for their newborn babies for up to six months to improve their health status.
Hajia Tambuwal said this while speaking at the symposium to commemorate the World Breastfeeding week 2022, organized by the Sokoto State Ministry of Health in collaboration with Alive and Thrive, Nigeria.
Hajiya Tambuwal, who was represented by the wife of the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Asma’u Muhammad Ali Mohammad Inname, said breastfeeding week focuses on strengthening the capacity of actors to protect, promote and support exclusive breastfeeding.
She asserted that the state government, in collaboration with Mariya Aminu Waziri Tambuwal Development Initiative, would continue supporting policies and programmes promoting breastfeeding practices.
In her remark, the representative of Alive and Thrive, Victor Osatogbe, advised women to support exclusive breastfeeding, stressing that breast milk contains white blood cells and antibodies which protect babies against infections.
The symposium to commemorate the World Breastfeeding Week organized by Alive and Thrive and other partners was held simultaneously in Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, Borno and FCT-Abuja.