The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) say breastfeeding is the best feeding for babies for at least the first six months of their lives – but many mothers in northeast Nigeria are just too poor to afford nutritious food and, as a result, are unable to produce enough milk for their newborns.
RNI reporter Aisha Jamal spoke to mothers in the Sare community’s internally displaced persons’ camp in Maiduguri.
Hamsatu Modu, a mother of nine, who has lived in the camp for four years, said she had nothing to give her seven-month-old baby because she did not have food for herself most of the time. As a result, she had resorted to feeding her son maize porridge.
“We have nothing to eat; our children beg in public places, such as markets, filling stations and go to rich men’s houses to find money and we buy maize from what they get. Because I can’t afford nutritious food, I do not produce milk to breastfeed my son. I have resorted to grinding maize powder and making it for him without milk or sugar.”
Falmata Shuaibu, who also lives in Sare Camp, said she gave birth three months ago but was already giving porridge to her baby, too.
“I started giving him maize porridge because I don’t have enough breastmilk as we are not eating well. The maize is the only thing we have; sometimes he cries and goes to bed hungry. I don’t eat every day so I am not getting all the required nutrients I need to produce milk for him.”
The IDPs said they had never received humanitarian assistance. “The only assistance we have had was a toilet that was dug inside the camp by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Muhammad Shuwa, a nurse at the New GRA Primary Healthcare Facility, said that right from birth a child needs proper breastfeeding to grow and build a healthy immune system.
“Breastfeeding is a very important because children depend on their mother’s milk which contains various nutrients, such as carbohydrates, protein, mineral, fats and oil, all of which are necessary for a baby to grow healthily.”
He said the ever-increasing poverty in the community had contributed to make it hard for mothers to eat properly and breastfeed their infants as required because they lacked the natural nutrients needed for their babies.
“As a health worker, I believe it is high time the IDPs and the public should stop depending on non-governmental organisations [NGOs] for assistance and embrace local and cheaper available meals that will help to keep their children healthy.
“Parents who can’t afford to buy the required diets, such as milk, chicken and meat, should buy beans, eggs, millet, fish, vegetables and fruits, which will enable mothers to eat well and produce milk for healthy breastfeeding.”
On August 2 last year, the date recognised globally as the start of World Breastfeeding Week, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a joint statement: “Breastmilk saves children’s lives as it provides antibodies that give babies a healthy boost and protect them against many childhood illnesses.”
UNICEF and the WHO recommended that babies be fed only breastmilk for their first six months, after which they should continue breastfeeding – as well as eating other nutritious and safe foods – until two years of age or beyond. Currently, only 29% of Nigerian children between the ages of nought to six months were exclusively breastfed.
They said the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for stronger measures to support exclusive breastfeeding.
“The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, like most emergencies, leaves families with children in an extremely vulnerable position. Given the present lack of evidence that transmission of the virus can occur through breastmilk, we recommend that mothers should be encouraged to initiate and continue to breastfeed their babies while observing good hygiene practices,” said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF’s representative in Nigeria.
The agency quoted Dr George Ugwu, the executive secretary of the Enugu State Primary Health Care Development Agency, as saying: “Breastfeeding is key to newborn survival. Children who are exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life are 14 times more likely to survive than non-breastfed children. Breastfeeding also improves a child’s quality of life by supporting cognitive development and health – ultimately helping advance a child’s prospects in life.”
In Nigeria, where one in eight children do not reach their fifth birthday and three in 10 children were stunted, optimal breastfeeding practices were known to reduce neonatal and child morbidities and mortality rates, as well as reducing stunting. Optimal nutrition provided by breastfeeding, with nurturing, care and stimulation, strengthened a child’s brain development with positive impacts that endure over a lifetime, UNICEF said.
The states in northern Nigeria were the most affected by the two forms of malnutrition – stunting and wasting. High rates of malnutrition posed significant public health and development challenges for the country. Stunting, in addition to an increased risk of death, was also linked to poor cognitive development, a lowered performance in education and low productivity in adulthood – all contributing to economic losses estimated to account for as much as 11% of the gross domestic product (GDP).
