Azikoro Paramount Ruler Community Pledges Support for Exclusive Breastfeeding
The Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria, CS-SUNN, Bayelsa State has paid an advocacy visit to the paramount ruler of Azikoro community.
The State Coordinator, Mrs Ekinabhari Unity Ototo who led other members noted that the purpose of the visit was to advocate for the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding practices among women, emphasizing the benefits of breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of a child’s life.
Mrs Ototo emphasized that CS-SUNN is engaging traditional leadership of these various communities to support and promote exclusive breastfeeding as a key practice for the health and well-being of children.
“Exclusive breastfeeding is known to provide essential nutrients that infants need for growth and development, as well as boost immunity, significantly reducing child mortality and morbidity rates.”
She also pointed out that exclusive breastfeeding has enormous benefits for infants aged 0–6 months as it strengthens the immune system of children, helping to protect them from common childhood diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia, and infections.
In his response, Paramount Ruler of Azikoro, His Royal Highness, Chief Dr Amadoku Obeneken as well as the chiefs and community leaders expressed their appreciation to CS-SUNN for initiating such an important advocacy adding that exclusive breastfeeding is a critical issue that affects the health and future of children in their communities.
They commended CS-SUNN for the knowledge shared and for raising awareness among the traditional leadership, which they believe will help inform decisions in favor of the health of women and children.
However, the chiefs recommended that the advocacy be extended to the women in the community as they also suggested that CS-SUNN organize a forum where women could be directly addressed, educated, and empowered with the knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding practices.
The engagement of traditional leadership provides a strong platform for further outreach and education, and the chiefs’ commitment to facilitating a meeting with the women in the community marks a promising step toward improving child health.
