Borno state government says it is proposing a legislation of six months maternity leave to working mothers in the state.
Commissioner for Health Mrs Juliana Bitrus stated this while briefing newsmen on the occasion of this year’s breastfeeding week in Maiduguri.
Mrs Bitrus explained that the legislation when passed will give opportunity to nursing mothers working under the payroll of the state government to practice exclusive breastfeeding.
“We will try and put it as a law, so that our working mothers can have the six months we are talking about, already in some places they are enjoying four months,.so we are looking forward to realising it.”
According to her, a survey by Multiple Indicator Cluster shows that only 29.5 percent of children between 0-5 months are exclusively breastfed.
The Commissioner said the state government has taken deliberate steps to improve on the current figure by providing nursing mothers especially those in IDP camps with food and other essential items to improve their wellbeing.
She observed that babies not exclusively breastfed for the first six months are more likely to die from pneumonia and diarrhoea compared to newborns that are exclusively breastfed.
She urged parents and other stakeholders to support the practice to have a healthy society.
Dauda Iliya
