Bauchi State Government has expressed readiness to enact a law that will support breastfeeding mothers with months of paid maternity leave and provision of crèches to breastfeed their babies in their workplaces across the state.
Speaking at a Media Dialogue organised by the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) on World Breastfeeding Week at the Jamil Hotel in Azare, headquarters of Katagum LGA, Executive Chairman of Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (BSPHCDA), Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed said that the present administration is passionate about the healthcare of the citizens.
The Executive Chairman noted that UNICEF and the state Primary Healthcare Development Agency started the discussion on the second of August with the Wife of the Governor, Aisha Bala Mohammed, during the flagging-off ceremony of the 2023 World Breastfeeding Week (WBW).
He further disclosed that during the discussion, it was agreed that a law be proposed to the State House of Assembly to be enacted to create an enabling environment for working-class mothers to have maternity leave.
Rilwanu Mohammed stressed that Exclusive breastfeeding is the most important thing in the building up of the early life of the infant as it aids its development and growth.
He assured that the Agency will expedite the process of getting the bill across to the House of Assembly to facilitate its passage
Also speaking, the Bauchi state house of Assembly Committee Chairman on Health, Honorable Lawal Dauda, said that the assembly is already aware of the planned enactment of a law to support working breastfeeding mothers in the state.
“We, members of the Bauchi state assembly, will try to ensure that there is improved breastfeeding practice that has the potential to save the lives of children”, he said.
According to him, exclusive breastfeeding for babies for the first six months of their lives is known to be the best task for the baby, adding that the adoption of exclusive Breastfeeding will lead to the largest infant mortality rate reduction.
He said that the assembly members who were hinted about the issue have shown commitment to ensuring that the law is passed once the bill is presented before them.
In a goodwill message, Dr. Tushar Rane, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Nigeria Bauchi Field Office, said the World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year to reiterate the importance of breastfeeding for children, mothers, and socio-economic development.
Dr. Rane, who described Breastmilk as the first vaccine for every child, further noted that it remains the mainstay for safeguarding infants against life-threatening infections, supporting optimal brain development in children, especially in their first 1,000 days as well as ultimately lowering healthcare costs.
“This year’s World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) brings attention to workplace breastfeeding. Women make up 20 million out of the 46 million workforce in Nigeria; 95 percent are within the informal sector, while the formal sector only employs 5 percent”, he explained.
Dr. Rane expressed shock that only 9 per cent of organizations have a workplace breastfeeding policy with only 1.5 per cent in the public sector, whereas, women in the informal sector have nearly no support for breastfeeding.
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