Mothers advised on exclusive breastfeeding

SAVE The Children International in collaboration with Lagos State government and Reckitt-Benkiser (RB) have called on the private sector to join in the campaign of mothers breastfeeding their babies exclusively for six months without any addition.

According to the Campaign & Mobilisation Cordinator, Save the Children International, Oluwakemi Adeyanju, at the 2015 World Breastfeeding Week Campaign that took place at Shomolu Local Government, Onipanu, the call was in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO), which recommends that infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health.

“Nigeria is the 9th worst place in the world to grow up as a child. One in every eight children born today in Nigeria will not reach their fifth birthday, which means that 850,000 children under the age of five die every year. The three main killers of children in the world cause more than half of these deaths: diarrhea, pneumonia and malaria.

“In Lagos, the under-five mortality rate is 65/1,000 live births (lower than the South-West regional average of 83/1000), which is equivalent to 6 percent of the total number of under five deaths nationally.” She said recent research blamed reasons for not breastfeeding on death or ill-health of the mother.