'Over 70% of Nigerian infants denied exclusive breastfeeding'

2nd August 2022 File photo 2nd August 2022 The United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health Organisation have said over 70% of infants in Nigeria are denied exclusive breastfeeding.’ According to them, the exclusive breastfeeding rate in Nigeria is 29 percent.“In Nigeria, the Exclusive Breastfeeding rate is 29 percent, meaning that over 70 percent of infants in Nigeria are denied the aforementioned benefits of breast milk in their formative years.They, however, called on governments to allocate increased resources to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding policies and programmes, especially for the most vulnerable families living in emergency settings.

“Yet the emotional distress, physical exhaustion, lack of space and privacy, and poor sanitation experienced by mothers in emergency settings mean that many babies are missing out on the benefits of breastfeeding to help them survive.And only 44 per cent of infants are exclusively breastfed in the first six months of life, short of the World Health Assembly target of 50 per cent by 2025.