The 2022 world breastfeeding week starts today Monday 1st of August with the theme “Warm Chain Support”
The world breast feeding week has been celebrated since 1992. The breastfeeding week and campaign is a joint creation of the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF and the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA).
The need to promote breastfeeding came in the wake of today’s challenges of been a career person and a nursing mother. The above with a declining interest by women to breastfeed, the findings that breastfeeding is health for the growth and mental wellbeing of the child and health of the mother led to the campaign.
By 2016, breastfeeding became part of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the UNO. The SDG is set to be achieved by 2030.
According to WABA, “the main aim of the theme is to focus on strengthening the capacity of actors that have to protect, promote and support breastfeeding across different levels of society since they make up the warm chain of support for breastfeeding.”
The objectives include “to inform people about their role in strengthening the warm chain of support for breast feeding.”
“Promote breastfeeding as part of good nutrition, food security and reduction of inequalities”
“Engage with individuals and organisations along the warm chain of support for breastfeeding”
In a nation like Nigeria, a breastfeeding mother is faced with challenges of having the right nutrition and quantity of food for herself to able her produce milk for the child.
Hence, as we join the campaign for world breastfeeding day this week, it will be encouraging for the government to employ policies that will make it easy for nursing mothers to joyfully breast feed the young ones who are the hope of a better tomorrow.
