•Says FG will implement policy

•Charges mothers on exclusive breastfeeding

As part of measures to reduce maternal and child mortality in Nigeria, the Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, yesterday called on state governments to approve paternal leave to enable fathers offer post-natal care to their families.

The minister made the call in Abuja during a briefing to commemorate this year’s World Breastfeeding Day.

He lauded Lagos State government that has approved paternal leave and promised that the federal government would implement the policy once endorsed by the states.

His word: “In Lagos State, the first ten days after the child is born, the father can stay at home and help the mother look after the baby. So, we hope other states will follow suit and the federal government will do the same.”

Chukwu said though Nigeria was making progress in compliance with breastfeeding guidelines of the World Health Organisation, nursing mothers, according to him, must improve on exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of lives of their babies. Nigeria’s exclusive breastfeeding currently stands at 17 per cent, according to the National Demographic and Health Survey, NDHS, 2008.

The theme for this year’s commemoration is “Breastfeeding: “Winning Goal for life”, with a slogan: “Breastfeeding: Score a Goal, Save a Life.”

“Activity to score a goal in saving Nigerian child deserves the costeffective strategy: breast milk. Breast milk has been recognised as the most important thing to health intervention in Nigeria; and indeed in Africa.

This theme and the slogan are related to all the eight Millennium Development Goals,” the minister noted. Prof. Chukwu informed that mothers, who breastfeed have reduced rate of post-partum bleeding, have reduced incidence of osteoporosis, reduced incidence of breast cancer, ovarian cancer among others.

He added: “Someone said every time people talk about physical infrastructure but nobody talks about brain infrastructure.

We now know that the first 1000 days, starting from conception day is the most important for that brain infrastructure to be developed. And, if the brain infrastructure is not well-developed, the capacity to benefit from education is obviously low.

“So, we know that breastfeeding is fundamental to readiness to learn, and of course will reduce the risk of stunting in many parts of Nigeria…If you want your kid to compete with every other kid in everything, there is no doubt that you must go back to breastfeeding,” the minister stressed.