To further boost efforts at promoting exclusive breastfeeding among women, especially at the grassroots, Alive and Thrive Nigeria, (A&T), has begun a fresh drive for accelerating Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition, (MIYCN).
Project Director, of Alive and Thrive, Dr Victor Ogbodo, explained that the new strategy being launched is aimed at scaling up proven nutrition interventions and increasing nutrition practices for mothers and children through mass media campaigns, social media engagements and community mobilization.
Speaking at the launch of the project yesterday in Abuja, Dr Ogbodo said his team in partnership with key agencies such as the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Finance, Budget and National Planning as well as the federal ministry of Health, will work towards the realisation of set targets.
He said “Alive and Thrive is building the capacity of Community-Based Organizations and strengthening primary health care platforms for efficient and integrated delivery of maternal and young child services in collaboration with government, the Community Based Organizations and other nutrition stakeholders.”
Describing the body as an organisation that aims at saving the lives of women and children, the project director adds, “This project is a continued investment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the Alive and Thrive Initiative in Nigeria. It builds on the successes and learning realised during A&T’s five years in Nigeria and provides an exciting opportunity to do what we have always done, save lives of women and children.”
While reeling out more of the organisation’s activities and drive, Dr Auwalu Kawu said A&T also targets to create positive change in the knowledge and behaviour of target communities for improved exclusive breastfeeding.
According to him, the organisation “aims at improving the quality of life of grassroots communities in eleven target states of the federation and community mobilization through a grassroots approach is one of the key strategies.”
Representatives from the federal ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Health pointed out that the federal government has set in place a number of interventions that will encourage exclusive breastfeeding among women.
“The federal government championed the creation of creches in workplaces, put in safeguards to check aggressive marketing of formula milk and has continued to highlight the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding,” said Christiana Onwiko of the federal ministry of Women’s Affairs.
Other partners at the event include Civil Societies Scaling Up Nutrition, ( CS-SUN), UNICEF and the Nutrition Society of Nigeria among others.
