NAFDAC advises nursing mothers to embrace exclusive breastfeeding

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) has advised nursing mothers to embrace exclusive breastfeeding to improve the health status of their newborns. The North West Director of the agency, Mrs Josephine Dayilim, gave the advise at a one-day workshop on the ban on promotion of breast milk substitutes on Friday in Kaduna. The workshop was organised by NAFDAC, in collaboration with the Carelink Resource Foundation. Dayilim, represented by Rahila Maishanu, NAFDAC Desk Officer in charge of breast milk substitutes in Kaduna, expressed the need for stakeholders to educate nursing mothers to maintain exclusive breastfeeding. She said that nursing mothers needed to be sensitised on the dangers involved in using breast milk substitutes on their newborns. He said that there was a code that expressly banned the inappropriate marketing and advertising of breast milk substitute. She said that the code also banned the promotion of such products. Dayilim called on stakeholders to adhere to the code, while urging them to also step down the initiative to their communities. She appreciated their efforts towards sensitising the public on the importance of embracing exclusive breastfeeding. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that participants at the workshop cut across various organisations, such as National Union of Road Transport Workers, traditional leaders and health workers, among others. The participants promised to adhere to the code and implement it in their respective domains.