As a result of targeted interventions under the Alive & Thrive project between 2023 and 2025, Lagos State recorded a 17 per cent rise in early initiation of breastfeeding and a 10.8 per cent increase in exclusive breastfeeding,
The milestones were announced yesterday in Lagos at the dissemination and closeout of the Accelerating the Scale of Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (ASMIYCN) project, with government and development partners pledging to sustain the impact.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Lagos State team lead for FHI 360/Alive & Thrive, Dr. Olawumi Ajayi, explained that the project was designed to optimise existing health systems and address pressing nutrition challenges facing women and children.
According to her, when the programme resumed in Lagos in 2022, indices such as early initiation of breastfeeding stood at 14 per cent, exclusive breastfeeding at 37.4 per cent, while nearly half of women of reproductive age were anemic.
“These were the indicators that propelled us to return to Lagos to take another run at improving nutrition outcomes,” she said.
Ajayi noted that with the support of the Lagos State Ministry of Health and the Primary Health Care Board, the initiative implemented maternal and child nutrition interventions across seven local government areas, later expanding to all 20 LGAs for multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS).
She explained that some of the achievements include the training of 393 frontline health personnel across 124 primary health centres, integration of nutrition counselling into antenatal and postnatal care, community engagement through over 270 volunteers, and media campaigns that reached hundreds of thousands with nutrition messages.
She continued: “Between 2023 and 2025, early initiation of breastfeeding improved by 17 per cent while exclusive breastfeeding rose by 10.8 per cent across the intervention LGAs.”
In her welcome address, FHI360 Policy and Advocacy Lead, Toyin Adewale Gabriel, described the project as a journey of collaboration and innovation.
“Today is not an end, it is a celebration of milestones achieved and lives positively impacted. None of this would have been possible without the unwavering leadership of the Lagos State government and the commitment of community partners,” she said.
Representative of the Gates Foundation, Kunle Daramola, lauded the progress made, noting that the wide-scale promotion of MMS across the state had laid a strong foundation for healthier pregnancies and safer births.
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Dr Ibrahim Akinwunmi Mustafa, represented by Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Dr. Temitope Balogun, commended the initiative for strengthening health systems and equipping frontline workers.
Director of Family Health and Nutrition at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Folasade Oludare, expressed gratitude to Alive & Thrive for its role in building community engagement, training health workers, and supporting policies that integrate maternal and child nutrition into mainstream healthcare.
