By Princess Simon (Bureau Chief North Central, in Minna)
Wife of the Niger state Governor, Hajia Fatima Umaru Bago has encouraged on women, lactating mothers in particular to go for exclusive breastfeeding because it is the best for their babies compared to any other baby foods.
Promote exclusive breastfeeding, the governor's wife enhances natural growth of vital body components, adding that “breast feeding will bring about healthy babies and the best for their good start in life.”
The Governor's wife spoke at the first 1, 000 days initiative to commemorate the year 2026 World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) organised by the State Primary Health Care Development Agency supported by the UNICEF and funded by the United States government, and appealed to women to go for exclusive breast milk because the breast milk is rich and sufficient in all nutrients the child's body needed for growth and development.
“I want to encourage mothers to ensure they exclusively breastfeed their babies for six months; and we are equally appealing to our pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers not to feed babies with anything apart from breast milk within the first six months because the breast milk is rich and sufficient in all the nutrients.”
The governor's wife who also visited the Sen. Idris Kuta memorial Primary Health Care (PHC) centre, along old Airport road where she met with five mothers who were just delivered of their babies donated the sum of N250,000 to the five mothers as support.
She said, “I am so glad that the five mothers who delivered today are already breastfeeding their babies with breast milk and I encourage other women to adhere to exclusive breastfeeding for us to have healthy children and a safer future”.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of the Primary Health Care Development Agency (NSPHCA), Dr. Junaidu Inuwa said the rate of compliance is not something that is tangible and can be measured.
“From the little date we are having, the rate of compliance in Niger is very high, breastfeeding in Niger state is about 49 percent, we have not yet reached the national average anyway".
“We are working very hard to to reach the national average and that is part of the reason why we are having this sensitisation. The national average is about 56 percent.” NNL.
