Nestlé Nigeria launches breastfeeding campaign in Ibadan, moves to check infant mortality

Against the backdrop of Nigeria’s increasing cases of infant mortality, Nestlé Nigeria plc, a nutrition, health and wellness company has disclosed its commitment to check infant mortality, which currently stands at 91.54 per 1,000 live birth in Nigeria, saying exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of birth and appropriate infant feeding practices as recommended by WHO will guarantee healthy living for Nigerian infants.

Consequently, and in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations on exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of birth and in order to achieve MDG4 with appropriate infant feeding practices, the nutrition, health and wellness company has launched a serious campaign against the nutritionally inappropriate foods which nursing mothers in Nigeria, especially in rural area, usually resort to while nursing their babies.

Speaking at a country-wide Nestlé Nutrition Symposium launched in Ibaban at the weekend with the theme: “Achieving MDG4 with Appropriate Infant Feeding Practices”, Mazhar Qureshi, the Category Business manager (Nutrition), disclosed that unbalaced diets and micro-nutrient deficiences, that are rampant among infants in Nigeria, are responsible for the increased risk of chronic diseases and stunted growth and development.

Qureshi averred that health indicators of many developing countries, including Nigeria prove that “infants are fed nutritionally inappropriate foods, resulting in malnutrition which ultimately results in death”, adding that many Nigerian nursing mothers had made wrong feeding choices for their children which had unfortunately helped increased infant mortality.

The Nutrition Category Manager, who stated that the nursing mothers face multi-faceted challenges for nursing and upbringing of their children, said it would “support parents in making the right food choices for their children by providing research-based nutrition products, including maternal and infant health supplements, and by offering appropriate, consistent advice to help them understand that small changes to a child’s diet can have a big impact on its health today and throughout its life.”

 

RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta