The First Lady of Bauchi State, Hajiya Aisha Bala Mohammed has called for the provision of enabling environment for lactating mothers to breastfeed their newborn babies in the workplace.
She made the call at an event to commemorate the 2023 World Breastfeeding Week, with the theme “enabling breastfeeding; making a difference for working mothers”, held in Bauchi.
The event was organized by the State Primary Health Care Development Agency in collaboration with Alive and Thrive fhi360 and USAID funded by Breakthrough Action Nigeria.
Hajiya Aisha Bala Mohammed said the State House of Assembly has a role to play in actualising the advocacy for the provision of breastfeeding corners in all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government through legislative provisions.
According to the First Lady, Working and lactating mothers are facing a lot of challenges in their workplace due to the absence of breastfeeding corners, which at many points distract them from discharging their duties effectively.
The Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed assured that the Governor was willing to approve, give assent to any legislative process that is geared towards improving the lives of mothers and children.
Breastfeeding corners in Kaduna MDAs
In a related development, A Non Governmental Organisation, Alive and Thrive has advocated for the establishment of Creches in all Ministries, Department and Agencies across Kaduna State and other working places to enable nursing mothers to breastfeed their babies exclusively.
The Zonal Coordinator of the Organization in Kaduna, Mrs Sarah Didi Kwasu made the call during a Community Engagement Forum with Key Stakeholders on Nutrition in Kaduna.
She said breastfeeding was one of the best investment in Children’s and Women’s health.
According to her, the objective of the forum was to engage with individuals to understand the workplace challenges for nursing mothers and find way forward as well as to engage with organisations, government stakeholders and other partners to proffer solution on how to mitigate the challenges with a view to promote breastfeeding in workplaces.
Mrs Kwasu also advocated for the legislation of Six months paid maternity leave for nursing mothers.
She pointed out that, as part of effort to promote, protect and support breastfeeding, Alive and Thrive has advocated the need for government at all levels, Public and Private Sectors, work places and community to scale up breastfeeding for lactating mothers and their babies.
In a remark, Kaduna State Commissioner for Health, Hajiya Umma Kaltume Ahmad represented by the Director Public Health of the Ministry, Dr Aishatu Abubakar Sadiq said Breastfeeding provided nutrition, protection and contributed to early child development, psychosocial development, good mental health for mother.
Hajiya Umma Ahmad commended the State Primary Healthcare Board, the State Planning and Budget Commission and Alive & Thrive for involving communities aimed at addressing the disparity between real needs and perceived needs in communities.
Hajiya Umma Kaltume Ahmed also directed the creche in the ministry of health be renovated and commissioned immediately .
She said an audit was ongoing to verify compliance with 6 months paid maternity leave and availability of creches as well as safe spaces for breastfeeding in all government offices within the State.
Representatives of Save Children International, Kaduna State Ministry of Justice, Kaduna State Primary Health Care Development Agency, NAFDAC among other stakeholders were present during the engagement forum.
Similarly, Stakeholders at a forum to mark this year’s World Breastfeeding week in Katsina State want government and other employers of labour to implement a flexible workplace breastfeeding policy to ease the hardships faced by working-class nursing mothers in the country.
The forum was organized by the Katsina State Primary Healthcare Development Agency in collaboration with the United Nation’s Childrens Education Fund, UNICEF.
In his speech, the representative of the Head of Kano Field Office of UNICEF, Mr. Niyi Oyedokun, noted that the current provisions in the civil service rules in most states was not convenient for nursing mothers.
He called for the amendment of public service provisions and the terms of service in private organizations, to adopt breastfeeding-friendly policies to enable nursing mothers to cope with the responsibility of breastfeeding their infants.
The representative of civil society organizations, Malam Bello Bello, observed that more than half a million working class nursing mothers in the country are not enjoying basic maternity provisions that are operational in other parts of the world.
He called on the legislature at federal and state levels to make laws that would guarantee favourable working conditions for nursing mothers particularly in the private sector.
In a speech, Wife of Katsina State Governor, Hajiya Zulaiha Dikko Radda urged government and private organizations to grant nursing mothers at least six months’ leave to enable them provide the required nutrition for their infants.
The Katsina State Commissioner of Health who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Tijjani Hamza, expressed the state government’s commitment to work with international donor partners, the civil society and the State House of Assembly to implement more breastfeeding-friendly policies for nursing mothers in the state.
The forum brought together representatives of various health-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international donor agencies and policy makers to discuss ways to improve the working conditions and welfare of breastfeeding mothers.
Aminu Dalhatu; Kaduna, Isma’il Adamu; Katsina