By Zayamu Hassan
The National Assembly are concern over the lack of enabling environment for women to practice exclusive breastfeeding in work places in Nigeria.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, stated this at the 40th Anniversary of the International Code of marketing of the BMS in Nigeria with the theme “Implementing the BMS Code in Nigeria: Progress, Challenges and Opportunities.
He said that breastfeeding in Nigeria is high but however, lamented that few women practice exclusive breastfeeding due to the lack of the enabling environment.
“Breast feeding in Nigeria is high because almost every women breast feed, but exclusive breastfeeding is not at the stage or the level we want it to be.
“Our exclusive breastfeeding rate in Nigeria is 29 per cent but it is worrisome that only 9 per cent of work place have environment for exclusive breastfeeding.
“Therefore, we have the Code for 40 years, we have done a lot of things, but the enabling environment for the Code to work is still not there. This is because increasingly, women are working, we can checkmate and ensure women do exclusive breastfeeding, but then, are there supportive environment? This is one of the things policy makers need to work on.”
He, however, revealed that the lawmakers are making plans to ensure that within the next six months Nigeria gets a law that encourages women to have space to exclusively breastfeed their babies in work place.
Senator Oloriegbe, however, explained that: “Since we came in two years ago into the National Assembly, we have had discussion with Safe the Children on how we can change the law to be able to implement six months maternity leave because it is not yet universal.
“We need to work together as stakeholders to make sure that we achieve that and I want to pass that verdict that within the next 6 months, we should be able to pass that law.
“We want all stakeholders to put our hands together. When we do this, it should across board for all employers of labour.
“There are some states, especially, Kaduna state who do that but we need to make across board, particularly, the private sector. This is because the private sector engages more women.”
He lamented that some commercial institutions like banks and others directed women to come back after six weeks, “how do you want the woman to exclusively breastfeed?” he asked.
The lawmaker added that the second thing they need to promote as a policy is work place environment.
“This is because after exclusive breastfeeding, we need to provide a good environment to the woman to continue to breast for a period of two years so as to provide proper nutrition for our children.
“This is because after six months when the woman resumes, it does not mean that breastfeeding has stopped. This is critical. We have a lot of studies that have proven the advantages of exclusive breastfeeding. It is has shown that productivity, IQ and intelligence have direct correlation with breastfeeding.
“It is important that policy makers and implementers ensure that the future is better than today by making every child that is born to not only have early breastfeeding but exclusive breastfeeding and continuous breastfeeding and appropriate nutrition,” Senator Oloriegbe said.
Earlier, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, said that his ministry remained committed to improving survival of children, especially the ones under the age of five-year and maternal child care through various policies that would promote healthy living.
Represented by the Director of Family Health in the Ministry, Dr Anas Kolo, said that the ministry had gone ahead to promote baby friendly hospital initiative.
Ehanire maintained that the ministry would continue to promote exclusive breastfeeding and other initiatives in the same direction.
The minister, therefore, encouraged mothers to continue to breastfeed their babies in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that support mechanisms were on the way to encourage mothers.
