Breastmilk, First Vaccine For Newborn – UNICEF
- Breastfeeding Can Save 100,000 Children in Nigeria, Annually
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has said that breastmilk is the first vaccine and food given to every child at birth.
UNICEF noted that breastfeeding is an important pillar in protecting infants from potentially fatal infections, promoting optimal brain development in children, and lowering the incidence of chronic childhood and maternal illnesses, ultimately lowering healthcare costs.
Cristian Munduate, UNICEF’s Nigeria Country Representative, stated this in a statement signed by Blessing Ejiofor, UNICEF Communication Officer issued to mark the celebration of World Breastfeeding Week in Lagos.
Every year from August 1 to August 7, the world celebrates World Breastfeeding Week.
WBW 2023’s theme, “Enable Breastfeeding, Making a Difference for Working Parents,” focuses on raising awareness about breastfeeding assistance in workplaces.
The UNICEF Country boss also said that the need to improve breastfeeding practices, saying that it can save more than 100,000 children in Nigeria each year, as well as 22 million dollars in healthcare expenses associated with poor breastfeeding.
According to Munduate, it might also create an additional 21 billion dollars for the economy over the productive years of children by enhancing cognitive capacity and minimizing premature mortality in the early years.
“Today, there is evidence that every N1,000 invested in breastfeeding support can yield an estimated N35,000 in economic returns for Nigeria.”
“While I recognize significant strides made in Nigeria over the last two decades to increase exclusive breastfeeding rates, it is clear that more needs to be done.”
At the moment, only seven states out of 36 provide six months of fully paid maternity leave, and only 34% of children aged zero to six months are exclusively breastfed, as recommended by UNICEF.
Unicef
“Nigeria is still a long way from meeting the World Health Assembly’s 70% target by 2030,” she noted.
According to global data, increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates might save the lives of 820,000 children under the age of five each year, producing an additional revenue of 302 billion dollars.
Breastmilk, she believes, is critical to the health and well-being of children, mothers, and society as a whole.
“Breastmilk is the first vaccine and food given to every child at birth.”
“Breastfeeding is an important pillar in protecting infants from potentially fatal infections, promoting optimal brain development in children, and lowering the incidence of chronic childhood and maternal illnesses, ultimately lowering healthcare costs.”
Mr Munduate said that breastmilk was not just a super-food and vaccine, but also a smart investment.
As a result, she urged the government at all levels and businesses to take decisive action to guarantee a friendly breastfeeding environment for all working women, both formal and informal.
