It has been observed that one of the primary barriers to breastfeeding or early cessation of breastfeeding is the prevalence of workplace challenges.
The observation was made by the Chief of Field, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr Tushar Rane in a goodwill message at the 2023 World Breastfeeding Week activities held at the premises of State Secretariat, Bauchi on Wednesday.
According to him, Women require sufficient time and support to breastfeed successfully noting that women with less than three months of maternity leave tend to have shorter breastfeeding durations than those with three or more months of leave.
Represented by Philomena Irene, Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF Nigeria, the chief of field office said, “These statements highlight the objectives of the 2023 WBW and emphasize the importance of workplace support for breastfeeding, as well as the impact of the zero water campaign on improving exclusive breastfeeding rates in the country.”
He stressed that the 1999 Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution, the 2008 Public Service Rules, and the 2004 Nigeria Labour Law all recognise and assent to the provision of maternity entitlements.
He added that Nigeria currently implements two maternity entitlement provisions: The first, recognised at all levels of public service and codified in the Nigerian Labour Act, provides up to 12 weeks of maternity leave with at least 50% of salary and, upon return to work, half an hour twice a day during working hours to breastfeed.
The second, recently adopted by the Federal Public Service and yet to be ratified by the states and local government civil service, is a 16-week maternity leave provision with full pay and two hours off each day to breastfeed up to six months after the employee resumes duty.
Tusha Rane said that in addition to these domestic policies, the Government of Nigeria has signed on to the
International Labour Organization Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183) and its accompanying Recommendation (No. 191).
Across the states in Nigeria, targeting the UNICEF 19 focus states, different provisions apply depending on whether a woman is employed by the Federal, State, or Local government.
He said that “For example, Lagos, Enugu, and Kaduna states offer mothers 24 weeks of fully paid maternity leave. In comparison, Lagos and Enugu states provide ten working days and three weeks of paternity leave to new fathers.
“According to the study of maternity and paternity leave entitlements and Workplace Lactation Policies and Practices conducted by A&T and UNICEF in 2019, only 9% of organizations had a workplace breastfeeding policy in Nigeria.
“However, 100% of organizations were supportive of implementing breastfeeding-friendly programmes.
Evidence indicates that employers, particularly in the private sector and driven by economic considerations, exhibit reluctance towards expanding the number of leave days.
“However, the same evidence highlights their 100% support and readiness for establishing and fostering a breastfeeding-friendly environment in the workplace, as indicated in the 2019 study.
“This finding represents an opportunity to seize a readily achievable solution (a low-hanging fruit) while working towards long-term objectives.
“The call for action includes protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding and addresses inequalities that stand in the way of sustainable development.
“Therefore, calling on the State Government to extend paid maternity leave from 4 months to 6 months
Establish creches in the workplace and consider a 14-working-day paternity leave for state civil servants.”
He said that UNICEF is happy to continue to collaborate with the Bauchi State Government to celebrate this year’s World Breastfeeding Week with the theme ‘Enabling Breastfeeding – Making a Difference for Working Parents’.
He stressed that optimal infant feeding is a building block for human capital development and essential to child survival, health, and development, while poor Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices are a major contributor to the high burden of infant and childhood morbidity and mortality.
Rane stated that scientific evidence reported in the 2016 and 2023 Lancet Breastfeeding series confirmed that the benefits of breastfeeding include fewer childhood infections, increased intelligence, probable protection against overweight and diabetes, and cancer prevention for mothers.
According to him, In Bauchi State, only 26.4 % of children aged 0 to 5 months are exclusively breastfed according to MICS 2021 report. While the world is on track to reach the 2025 target of a 50 per cent exclusive breastfeeding rate, Bauchi State needs to do more.
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