By Philip Yatai

The Civil Society-Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) has called on Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) in Kaduna State to provide adequate counselling to lactating mothers on exclusive breastfeeding.

The State Coordinator, Ms Jessica Bartholomew, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Saturday.

Bartholomew said that the call was in line with the 2021 World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), themed “Protect Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility’’.

She pointed out that PHCs, secondary and tertiary health facilities were the major points of contact for mothers to access good counselling on optimal breastfeeding of infants.

According to her, promotion of early initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding will play a critical role in addressing the scourge of malnutrition in the state.

“The theme for this year has further highlighted the need for all stakeholders, including health service providers, to play their role in increasing optimal breastfeeding practices.

“CS-SUNN is also calling on ministries, departments and agencies in the state to adhere to the six months paid maternity leave to allow mothers to exclusively breastfeed their infants.

“As civil societies, we will continue to advocate for optimal breastfeeding practices as critical components of infant and young child feeding to ensure healthy growth and development of children,” she said.

NAN reports that the World Breastfeeding Week is a week-long campaign, from Aug. 1 to Aug. 7, to raise more awareness and mobilise support for breastfeeding.