By: Monday Danladi, Bauchi
Exclusive breastfeeding means feeding your baby only breast milk, not any other foods or liquids (including infant formula or water), except for medications or vitamin and mineral supplements. Fortify means adding vitamins and minerals to a food or drink.
Babies who are adequately breastfed, experts say, have lower risk of having asthma, Obesity, type 1 diabetes, Severe lower respiratory disease, Acute otitis media (ear infections), Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), Gastrointestinal infections (diarrhea/vomiting), among others. Not only babies, Breastfeeding has health benefits for the mother too, among which include reduction in risk to breast and ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Globally, the percent of infants under six months of age exclusively breastfed has reached 48%, close to achieving the World Health Assembly 2025 target of 50%.
In Nigeria, breastfeeding is universal with almost all babies being breastfed. However, the practice of EBF is rare with only 17% of children younger than six months being exclusively breastfed. The need to protect, promote and support breastfeeding in our communities has been widely recognised.
According to 2018 NDHS 9, the percentage of exclusively breastfed infants in Nigeria has risen from 17% to 29%. The low adherence to EBF prac- tice in Nigeria is associated with diarrhea-related deaths among children younger than five years of age.
More than 80% of families initiate breastfeeding, but only 26% exclusively breastfeed by six months, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In Africa, the overall prevalence of early initiation of breast feeding varied between a lowest of 37.84% (95% CI 24.62 to 51.05) in Central Africa to a highest of 69.31% (95% CI 67.65 to 70.97) in Southern Africa; the overall prevalence of exclusive breast feeding ranged between a lowest of 23.70% (95% CI 5.37 to 42.03).
Some of the barriers to exclusive breastfeeding reported in the study include wrong perceptions and practices, low parental socio-economic status and poor spousal support
Barriers to Exclusive Breastfeeding Practice among Rural and Urban women include insufficient milk production due to poor position and attachment, social factors such as influence of husband and other family members, joining to service.
The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) was carried out in 2021 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as part of the Global MICS Programme. Technical support was provided by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), with government funding and financial support of UNICEF, Gavi, the
Vaccine Alliance, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
The Global MICS Programme was developed by UNICEF in the 1990s as an international multi-purpose household survey programme to support countries in collecting internationally comparable data on a wide range of indicators on the situation of children and women. MICS surveys measure key indicators that allow countries to generate data for use in policies, programmes, and national development plans, and to monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other internationally agreed upon commitments.
The objective of this report is to facilitate the timely dissemination and use of results from the MICS. The report contains detailed information on the survey methodology, and all standard MICS tables.
The report is accompanied by a series of Statistical Snapshots of the main findings of the survey. This report is the second revision to versions previously published. This version is the first to be
published on the website of the Global MICS Programme.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is desirous of ensuring that women engage in exclusive breastfeeding in order to ensure that chi under 5 years got the best attention required to have a healthy living.
It has embarked on various programmes to ensure that women were encouraged to do the exclusive breastfeeding in the first 1000 days of the life of a child which are very significant in its growth and development.
The attention now is on how husbands will support their wives to practice the 6 months exclusive breastfeeding considering that the woman cannot do it alone, she needs the support and cooperation of the man to navigate the period with less pains.
The United Nations’ Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also warned lactating mothers against feeding their babies with water or any liquid substance other than breast milk within the first six months of life.
This was the main message at the 2024 World Breastfeeding Week flag-off and World Breastfeeding Record Initiative where over 30,000 lactating women across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as well as selected Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps breastfed their babies simultaneously.
With this event, Nigeria beaks the world record for the most lactating women, exceeding the current record of 21,000 attempted by the Philippines in 2013.
UNICEF Public Health Nutrition Officer and the Breastfeeding Record Facilitator, Izuchukwu Michael Offiaeli commended Breastfeeding mothers that participated in the historic event saying, “while the target was to engage 30,000 lactating women, an impressive 31,254 women, along with their babies, turned out across the states and IDP camps to set a new world record for the highest number of lactating women breastfeeding simultaneously”.
Izuchukwu Offiaeli said that breast milk has over 88 percent water, providing all the water a baby needs and cautioned that giving water to babies during the first six months of life is the major barrier to improving exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rates in the country and encouraged mothers to choose breast milk only for their babies in the first 6 months of life to ensure optimal health for their infants.
In her Goodwill Message at the event, UNICEF Country Representative, Cristian Munduate commended Nigerian government for creating enabling environment for lactating mothers in the country to breastfeed their babies and called on all stakeholders in Nigeria to come together to close the gap in breastfeeding inequalities by supporting breastfeeding mothers across the country to practice exclusive breastfeeding. She harped on the need to empower mothers with the knowledge and support they need to make the best choices for their children’s health.
She said despite that breastfeeding is the foundation of lifelong health and well-being among other proven benefits, rates of early, exclusive and continued breastfeeding in Nigeria remain low as a result of cultural, social and practical barriers.
She called on all stakeholders including government, members civil society organizations, government, policymakers, health systems, workplaces, communities, fathers and grandparents to come together to close the gap in breastfeeding inequalities in Nigeria.
According to her, “We are gathered, not just to break a world record; but we are here to make history and send a powerful message to the world about the importance of breastfeeding. Let us ensure that breastfeeding support is integrated into Nigeria’s emergency response plans to protect the youngest and most vulnerable members of our society.”
She added that, “Unregulated donation of breast milk substitutes and lack of clean water can put infants at higher risk of malnutrition and mortality. Let us ensure that all health workers, especially skilled birth attendants support mothers to initiate breastfeeding early and be supported to succeed with exclusive and continued breastfeeding”.
Cristen Munduate reiterated UNICEF’s steadfast commitment to supporting Nigeria in its journey towards better child health and nutrition.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate said the global theme of the event “Closing the Gap, Breastfeeding Support for All” underscores the collective responsibility to ensure that lactating mothers received the support they need to make breastfeeding a successful and fulfilling experience.
Quoting the Global Breastfeeding Scorecard, Pate said global exclusive breastfeeding rates have increased to 48%; while in Nigeria, according to the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), only 34% of children 0 to 6 months are exclusively breastfed. This is a far cry from the global average and the World Health Assembly target of 50% by 2025.”
It is interesting to note that the same survey reveals that 96.7% of children are breastfed at one point or the other, while 69.6% receive breast milk as the predominant source of nourishment (i.e. they receive breast milk and certain fluids like water and water-based drinks).
This indicates that Nigerian mothers want to breastfeed but they need support to practice optimal breastfeeding as recommended”, he said.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom said despite that breastfeeding is a natural process, women need adequate support both to get started and to sustain optimal breastfeeding.
“We must adequately support our women to breastfeed, so that we will be able to reap the manifold benefits of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is one of the smartest investments we can make as a nation to build our future prosperity. It brings huge returns to the child, mother, family and the nation.”
“It offers children unparalleled health and brain-building benefits, and has the power to save the lives of women and children throughout the nation, and to help our national economy grow through lower health care costs and smarter work forces”, he said.
Recently, Bauchi Field Office of the UNICEF organized a Media Dialogue held in Yola, Adamawa state with the theme: ‘Beyond Mothers: Analysing the Role of Fathers and Family Members in Promoting Exclusive Breastfeeding for Child Survival’.
The Media Dialogue was organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bauchi Field Office (BFO), for media practitioners from Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Plateau and Taraba States.
Speaking at the media dialogue, Philomena Irene, UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, says this year’s theme, ‘Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All,’ underscores the Fund’s commitment to ensuring that every mother in the UNICEF BFO States has access to the support she needs, regardless of her circumstances.
Philomena Irene urged Journalists to be agents of change in correcting myths and misconceptions surrounding exclusive breastfeeding for the benefits of new born babies for the first 1,000 days of their lives.
She expressed concern that the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) on breastfeeding was poor in the DFO states as the 2021 MICS showed Adamawa had 53.3 percent practice exclusive breastfeeding, Bauchi recorded 26.4 percent, Gombe had 30.7 percent, Plateau had 38.6 percent while Taraba recorded only 33.7 percent.
“These are not indices that should make one happy. The question is what can we do as change agents to change the narratives? This time around, we want to focus on the gender and expect a different result,” She said.
The Nutrition Specialist added that, “We must write inspirational stories, we must write with evidence that is true with the practice of exclusive breastfeeding. Now, you (media practitioners) are nutrition specialists who will be engaging men to make a difference.
You need to tell them the benefits of breastfeeding, know their perceptions about it, and progressively create a change in their minds about the practice”
Philomena Irene also said that the media should create a sustained campaign for men to support their breastfeeding wives in all ramifications to enable them to succeed in exclusively breastfeeding their infants for the first 1,000 days of life.
She stressed that the focus should be on fathers who could aid their wives with childcare and household chores so the baby’s mother can take time to breastfeed their babies.
According to her, “They are to also talk with family members, including grandmothers, about committing to breast milk only for the baby’s first six months – no water or other liquids or foods as well as talk about the need to feed the baby milk, eggs, and green or orange fruits or vegetables every day.”
She further stated that, “The fathers are to ensure that animal source foods are always available for the baby by keeping for the family milk and eggs that might otherwise be sold or by purchasing milk and eggs as needed, beginning at six months.They are also to check in with their wives about how the plan for feeding the baby is going, at least once a week.”
We want men to become change agents and lead the charge in ensuring their wives practice exclusive breastfeeding and receive the appropriate nutrition at home,” Irene emphasized.
“The percentages are particularly troubling in Bauchi and Gombe states, where the rates are below 50%. This is unacceptable because it means that more than half of our children are not exclusively breastfed, leaving them vulnerable to chronic diseases, lower intellectual capacity, gastrointestinal issues, and diarrhea.
She further stressed that exclusive breastfeeding is not only beneficial for the child’s health but also cost-effective for families.
“Breastfeeding is cheap and affordable. We want mothers to practice exclusive breastfeeding, and we need husbands at home to support them by creating a stress-free environment conducive to breastfeeding, particularly during the first six months, and continuing until the child is two years old.”
In his contribution to the dialogue, the Assistant Secretary-General, Muslim Council of Nigeria, Adamawa State, Imam Bashir Tahir, urged fathers not to compete with their babies over the mother’s breast milk.
The Cleric, who represented the Chairman of the council at the Media Dialogue, pointed out that God created breast milk strictly for the growth and development of babies and pledged the commitment of the council to support UNICEF’s campaign on exclusive breastfeeding saying it is good and Islamic.
According to him, “I have never heard such a thing that a father is struggling with his baby for breast milk,” assuring that misconceptions about breastfeeding will be dispelled in their sermons.
Imam Bashir Tahir said that, “Any father who drags breast milk with a baby is depriving the child of its benefits,” he cautioned. As a father you should be just to your child because if you are unjust as a father you are only sowing a seed of discomfort and disrespect in your family.”
“How do you expect to have respect in the house where the father deprives a small child of his rights given by God?
This message should be preached as part of sensitisation for me,” he stressed.
According to him, “There are 1,026 mosques in Adamawa state and if as a council we have an important message such as the importance of exclusive breastfeeding to convey to the Imams, we send such a message to the secretaries who will disseminate it to the Imams. The Imams will now convey the message to the people at the respective mosques in the state”.
Bashir Tahir, who is the Chief Imam, MOPOL Police Barracks, Yola, said that it is a sin for a husband to swallow even a drop of his wife’s breast milk saying, “When you sulk the breast milk of your wife she automatically ceases to be your wife and becomes your mother because breast milk was ordained for the mother to feed her baby, not adult.”
He advised husbands sucking their nursing wives’ breasts milk to desist in order not to incur the wrath of God upon their family.
In his own contribution, the District Head of Nyibargo in Adamawa Emirate, Alhaji Abubakar Jika, harped on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding.
“I recommend exclusive breastfeeding to my subjects because you cannot give what you don’t have,” the traditional ruler who is an ardent practitioner, told participants at the Media Dialogue. I got inspired by my medical friend doctor as far back as when I had my first child,” he added.
According to him, “Thereafter I encouraged my wife to engage in exclusive breastfeeding and I have seen the immense benefits in the lives of my children. From traditional point of view none of us knew much about the benefits of breastfeeding.”
The traditional ruler stressed that, “None of us in the society back then would say that his mother practiced exclusive breast feeding. There was even a time when female children were not allowed to go to school but things are gradually changing, so also exclusive breastfeeding.”
According to him, “When it first came most people in our society said no to it saying that they don’t want their children to die. Now considering the advantages of exclusive breast feeding, many people are now embracing it. So apart from the nutritional benefits for the child and mother, exclusive breastfeeding has huge economic benefits. The family will not spend money to meet other family needs during the period of breastfeeding.”
In his own submission, the representative of Adamawa State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), David Simon corrobated that the Bible is in support of exclusive breastfeeding by mothers.
He stated that exclusive breastfeeding has a lot of health benefits for the mother and child as it ensure that the child is protected against all child killer diseases while the mother will have enough time to recuperate.
David Simon assured that CAN will continue to use the pulpit to teach and promote exclusive breastfeeding to reduce maternal mobility and infant mortality just he also commended UNICEF for the media dialogue advocating for more of such meetings in the interest of children and women.
Ibrahim Haruna is a father, resident of Hardawa community in Misau local government area of Bauchi State who has advocated for synergy between fathers and grandmothers in order to boost the practice of exclusive breastfeeding among Nursing mothers.
Ibrahim Haruna who stated this recently while interacting with UNICEF Media on the need to advocate for practice of exclusive breastfeeding among Nursing mothers in Bauchi, also enjoined men, particularly fathers, to collaborate with grandmothers in order to prevent them from exercising some cultural practices that could slowdown its practice.
Exclusive breastfeeding of babies for six months has been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) due to its health benefits on both the baby and the mother.
As contained in a UNICEF’s Global Breastfeeding Scorecard 2023, breastfeeding has witnessed an increase by 10 percent over the past decade.
The scorecard observed the increase at 48% for 2023, close to the World Health Assembly target of 50% by 2025, with progress happening across different regions where numerous countries in Africa, Asia Europe and Oceania have documented large increases in exclusive breastfeeding with increases of more than ten percentage points in 22 countries since 2017.
However, Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) report 2021 showed that more than 80 percent of mothers in some states of Nigeria do not practice exclusive breastfeeding, a situation, Nutrition Specialist with the UNICEF, Philomena Irene described as worrisome.
According to experts, exclusive breastfeeding means feeding a baby with breast milk only, without any other foods or liquids (including infant formula or water), except for medications or vitamin and mineral supplements.
Ibrahim Haruna who is a farmer and father of seven children said, since he came across information about the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, he has sustained advocacy for it, not only within his family but even the neighborhood.
“I have been supporting my wife in every aspect of life, most especially the need for her to breastfeed our children exclusively with breast milk for six months”, he said.
Ibrahim Haruna who regretted that before he came to know about exclusive breastfeeding, four of his children did not benefitted, said that the situation has had negative health impact on their lives.
According to him, “Before I got enlightened by the authorities, I had four children who couldn’t have the opportunity to be fed exclusively with breast milk for six months, as a result, they often fell sick and I spent a lot of money to treat them”.
He narrated that after having the awareness on the benefit of exclusive breastfeeding to children and the Nursing mothers, he has been the one reminding his wife about it once she is put to bed saying, “I have also been telling my neighbors and friends to encourage their wives, luckily enough, none of them have rejected because they have seen the outcome in my last three children”.
The husband while emphasizing the need for husbands to support and encourage their wives to embrace the practice, said by doing so, they will see the positive impact it will make in the health of their children and the Nursing mothers as well.
He further advised husbands to ensure that their wives takes all the needed immunization for their children, urging them to also support their wives attain regular antenatal care, among other health care services to enhance their health conditions and urged husbands to discourage their wives from feeding their babies with complementary food until after the six months exclusive breastfeeding.
Ibrahim Haruna described as worthy of emulation in Bauchi state, a practice in Adamawa state where some communities selected men as volunteers to carry out door- to-door advocacy for the practice of exclusive breastfeeding, adding that such initiative will no doubt, increase participation among Nursing mothers.
“I think we need to have such a group in Bauchi, men who would volunteer to be championing this cause, it will increase the awareness of husbands who are decision makers in the various houses to encourage nursing mothers to that regard”, he said.
“My first four children were not exclusively breastfed because I was not aware of its importance, but when I became aware, I ensured that the last three are breastfed exclusively and I was able to convince my wife and she cooperated”, Haruna stated.
“Honestly speaking, I must confess that there is a great difference, the last three children look more healthier than the first four, they are also very intelligent, their educational performance is exceptional, they don’t fell sick often like the other ones, even if they do, it has always been a minor fever which paracetamol can easily heal”, he revealed.
Haruna further explained that the growth of the last three children that were exclusively breastfed is also different from the other four saying, “Once you see them you will know that they are healthy, in fact there is no comparison between the first four and the last three children I have in terms of physical appearance and healthy living”.
According to him, there’s the need for stakeholders to take advocacy for the six months exclusive breastfeeding with high sense of responsibility due to its importance to the wellbeing of children.
Also, Ibrahim Maibulawus of Tsohuwar Kasuwa in Jimeta-Yola is a 60 year old husband of 2 wives with 13 children, he joined the league of husbands supporting their nursing wives for exclusive breastfeeding 5 years ago and he confessed that the last years have been the best in his family life.
He said that he has gained a lot in terms of resources and peaceful family aa his wives are fully involved in exclusive breastfeeding thereby minimising children sickeness which would have consumed his little savings.
Also, Kabiru Maigari is a 50 year old civil servant in Adamawa state who has become an advocate of exclusive breastfeeding which he said is the best remedy for the survival of the infant from birth to the first 1000 days of life.
He too said that since he embraced the system, his family, especially the children have remained healthy and looking well fed and immune to all child killer diseases as they don’t fall ill but only visit the clinic for routine immunization and other minor issues.
