Ambassador Olufolake AbdulRazaq, wife of the Kwara State governor, has called on stakeholders in the state to raise awareness about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding,leadership reports.
Amb. AbdulRazaq urged stakeholders to take responsibility and work together to highlight the significant benefits of breastfeeding and to support mothers in practicing optimal breastfeeding for the benefit of the state and the entire country.
She made this appeal during the launch of World Breastfeeding Week in Ilorin, the state capital.
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“Our governor was one of the first to approve six months of maternity leave for civil servants in the country, thereby setting the stage for children to be exclusively breastfed,” she said. “I urge all stakeholders in the state, including political, traditional, and community leaders, as well as leaders in the private sector, and every Kwaran and Nigerian, to take responsibility and join hands to raise awareness of the huge benefits of breastfeeding and support mothers in practicing optimal breastfeeding for the good of our dear state and Nigeria.”
Dr. Nusirat Elelu, Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, remarked that the state has the highest rate of exclusively breastfed babies in the North-Central region of the country.
She noted the rate is 57.6 percent, which is the highest in the North-Central zone and above the national average of 34.4 percent.
“The state aims to surpass the target of 70 percent by 2030 through various interventions and the enabling environment provided by the state government,” Elelu added.
Represented by Dr. Michael Oguntoye, Director of Primary Health in the Ministry of Health, Elelu emphasized the state government’s commitment to promoting breastfeeding and other nutritional interventions to combat malnutrition.
