UNICEF Urges Mothers in Plateau to Adopt Exclusive and Complementary Feeding for Healthier Children

By Uzairu Dauda Bunga:

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has emphasized the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life, followed by the right complementary feeding to ensure child survival and development in Plateau State.

Speaking during a media engagement in Jos, the Nutrition Specialist at UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office, Mrs. Philomena Erene, highlighted the alarming nutrition statistics in Nigeria.

She noted that poor child nutrition is largely due to low rates of exclusive breastfeeding and inadequate complementary feeding practices after six months.

Mrs Erene said, malnutrition remains a serious concern as the result of many mothers stop exclusive breastfeeding too early and fail to introduce appropriate local complementary foods, which are essential for child growth and immunity.

She added that UNICEF is working across communities to promote better nutrition, access to clean drinking water, and healthier complementary feeding practices.

At an antenatal care (ANC) session held at Jos North Township Primary Health Centre, the acting officer in charge, Mrs. Halima Chantu, educated mothers on the importance of breastfeeding and Infant and Young Child Feeding.

She stressed that babies should be breastfed exclusively for six months, after which nutritious complementary foods should be introduced.

Mrs Chantu explained that, to ensure babies grow healthy and strong, mothers should allow their babies to feed thoroughly on one breast before switching to the other.

She also emphasized the importance of using affordable and nutritious locally available foods such as groundnuts, soya beans, beans, millet, Irish and sweet potatoes, spinach, and local green leafy vegetables like ugu.

According to Mrs. Chantu, the health center organizes daily health talks for pregnant and lactating women, promoting exclusive breastfeeding and the use of local foods during complementary feeding instead of expensive formula foods, added that Local foods are not only affordable but more nutritious and safer for babies.

During the interaction, several mothers at the session shared positive testimonials from practicing exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding.

Tabitha Solomon, a nursing mother, said she practiced exclusive breastfeeding for six months and now feeds her baby with a nutritious blend of locally made “Tom Brown”, a pap made from groundnuts, soya beans, and fish.

She added that, her baby started crawling before five months and is hardly ever sick that made her neighbors even started copying the method.

Another mother, Mrs. Cintia Raymond, said she began breastfeeding within two hours of delivery and exclusively breastfed her baby for six months.

She said, Exclusive breastfeeding is more hygienic and has protected her baby from infections, she also maintained a healthy diet of eggs, milk, fruits, and vegetables to support her baby’s development.

Hafsat Hussaini, a mother of two, shared that her first child exclusively breastfed and properly fed with local complementary foods, is thriving in school and rarely falls ill, saying she already applying the same feeding approach with her three month old baby.

All the mothers interviewed, encouraged others to adopt the culture of exclusive breastfeeding followed by nutritious, locally sourced complementary feeding, as a proven method for raising healthy, smart, and strong children.