Breastfeeding Week: CASCADE Calls for Support for Lactating Mothers in Jigawa
By Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse
A non-governmental organization, CASCADE Nigeria, has called for increased support for lactating mothers in Jigawa State to ensure access to nutritious food and promote six months of exclusive breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding for children.
The project, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, is a consortium led by CARE Nigeria in collaboration with GAIN, and implemented by FAcE-PaM.
The call was made by Gara Alheri Shiyya, the Health and Nutrition Technical Officer at FAcE-PaM, during an awareness campaign and interactive session with selected community members in Yola, Lautai (Jahun Local Government) and Kofar Fada and Agura (Kafin Hausa Local Government). The event was organized to mark World Breastfeeding Week, with the theme: “Prioritize Breastfeeding: Create a Sustainable Support System.”
Shiyya urged men to support their wives in achieving better health outcomes for their children, emphasizing the importance of colostrum (first breast milk) and exclusive breastfeeding.
He also called for concerted efforts to address the challenges hindering the practice of exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding.
During the session, some women including Maryam Nazifi, identified poverty and traditional norms as major obstacles to exclusive breastfeeding in their communities. They expressed commitment to overcoming these challenges.
In his remarks, the Bulama of Kafin-Hausa, Alhaji Yunusa Sulaiman, commended the CASCADE project and pledged to mobilize community members and raise awareness about the benefits of exclusive and complementary feeding for children.
Similarly, the Village Head of Tamburawa, Alhaji Ibrahim Babangida, pointed out that ignorance and poverty remain key barriers to the effective practice of exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding in the area.
