Stakeholders want 6-month paid maternity leave to boost exclusive breastfeeding

Stakeholders in Katsina State have on Monday, called for the extension of paid maternity leave, from four months to six months, in a bid to encourage exclusive breastfeeding.

The call is contained in a communique jointly signed by Alhaji Badamasi Sani, representative of the state’s Primary Health Care Agency, and Mr Umar Shehu of the Ministry for Local Government and Emirate Affairs.

It was also signed by Mr Yusuf Ibrahim-Kaita of the Ministry of Finance, Prof. Saifullahi Sani-Ibrahim, state’s Statistician General, and, Abdulazeez Abba Balarabe, of the Ministry of Agriculture.

They issued the communique on the adoption of Child Nutrition Fund (CNF) and implementation of the six-months paid maternity leave.

Our correspondent reports that the meeting convened by the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), is supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund.

‘’The extension of the paid maternity leave is aimed to encourage exclusive breastfeeding among working mothers, ‘’they said.

They also called on the state government to expedite operation of the multi-sectoral, nutrition strategic plan and conduct assessment on malnutrition across the 34 local government areas in the state.

‘’The assessment on malnutrition is to have reliable data for proper planning, budgeting, and contextualise solutions for malnutrition, which can be used to solve local challenges, ‘’ they said.

The stakeholders also called on government to allocate adequate funds for nutrition interventions and ensure a timely release of such funds.

‘’We also want local manufacturing of nutrition commodities in the state to strengthen the local government food and nutrition committees.

‘’Also, the government should institutionalise technology-driven data generation for real time decision making, ‘’they said.

The stakeholders resolved that a sustained investment in nutrition remains a vital tool for sustainable development, economic prosperity, and the overall well-being of Nigerians.

“With malnutrition still affecting one in three people globally and Nigeria ranking as the country with the second-highest number of stunted children, sustained advocacy and action remain imperative.

“In Katsina, 60.5 per cent of children under the age of five years are stunted, 26.8 per cent underweight, and 16.7 wasted, according to NDHS 2023.

“Therefore, the need for continuous strategic efforts to reverse these alarming statistics cannot be overstated,” they said

Our correspondent reports that the meeting was convened to build on earlier commitments and resolutions reached during the stakeholders’ meeting on July 15.

The session provided an opportunity to review progress made, address emerging gaps, renew commitments, as well as strengthen collaboration among stakeholders.