Nafdac and quest for adequate breastfeeding

Appropriate childhood and development are often, to a very large extent, facilitated by adequate and ideal nutrition as lack of knowledge of what constitutes genuine nutrition on the part of parents could result in malnutrition and other infant diseases.

This, perharps, explains the rationale behind the commitment of Nigeria’s advocate of ideal health for all, the National Agency for Food, Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC),towards a befitting feeding partern for Nigerian babies by confronting infants developmental challenges, through relentless emphasis on the imperativeness of standardised nutrition for Nigerian children.

Armed with the belief that only healthy, quality and ideal nutrition for infants at birth could guarantee appreciable developmental growth for them, it has consistently implored all nursing mothers to urgently embrace the internationally acceptable six months mandatory exclusive and intensive breastfeeding for the newborn, with subsequent complimentary nutrition from both local foods and natural milk substitutes with continuous breast milk application, for a period of two years or more.

Remarkably, the current mode of infants nutrition being canvassed by the Dr. Paul Orhii-led NAFDAC, is absolutely in line with globally recommended health, practices as supported by numerous international health organisations among which are; the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) as well as the World Alliance for Breast Feeding Action (WABA), which coordinate the annual World Breastfeeding Week, to mention but a few.

Undoubtedly, in spite of the various internationally acclaimed sophistication that seems to have characterised human mode of existence over the years, breast milk has remained the most unique, nutritious and dependable feed for newly born babies, in view of its very rich nutritional contents.

Unfortunately, the realisation of the importance of breast milk appears to have suffered severe setback in recent times, due to the emergence of numerous varieties of breast milk substitutes which adorn the nation’s markets.

While some mothers hinge their preference for these artificial alternative nutrition on the need to adequately and urgently meet work demand at offices, as co-bread winners for their families, in line with modern economic demand, some consider it as strain and stress free alternative.

From whichever perspective these arguments are being critically examined, breast milk remains the most nutritious and, therefore, more advantageous than its numerous man-made substitutes.

Conscious of the numerous negative implications of current maternal practices, whereby breast milk substitutes appears to have taken over the place of natural milk, various countries of the world have evolved strategies meant to encourage nursing and expectant mothers to resort to the use of natural milk as a most ideal means of nutrient for their babies.

Interestingly, Nigeria is, however, not left out in the current campaign against alternatives to breast milk. NAFDAC has since swung into action in this regard by impressing it on mothers nationwide, the need to ensure that their infants are fed exclusively with breast milk at least for six months, from the date of birth before breast milk substitutes and locally available foods, could be adopted as complimentary nutrients while still continuing with breastfeeding for the next two years.

Being an agency of the Nigerian government saddled with the scientific cum medical responsibility to guarantee a healthy population in accordance with its enabling Act, NAFDAC has left no one in doubt particularly since the advent of the agency’s current management team as to its total determination to ensure and achieve a sustainable, durable, dependable health for both old and young Nigerians.

This laurel winning agency, is absolutely mindful of the fact that Nigerian infants, which will in turn metamorphose into ‘the youth ’often regarded as the nation’s leaders of tomorrow, absolutely deserve the best of both care and nutrition to be medically fit so as to be able to confront the perceived socio-economic and political challenges of the future.

It is also aware that the economic, political and social success of any nation, is largely dependent on the availability of adequate and highly dependable human resource potentialities and thus its current insistence on a very virile developmental background for the nation’s infants.

Expectedly, NAFDAC has made series of positive result-oriented efforts, aimed at enlightening and educating Nigerian mothers in this regard.

Such efforts include, placement of pro-exclusive natural breast milk/breast feeding messages on radio, television, daily newspapers, weekly tabloid and magazines, erection and display of billboards at strategic locations nationwide, printing and free distribution of public enlightenment booklets (e.g NAFDAC campaigns,which comprise varieties of educative messages in this regard) etc.

Interestingly, the benefits that are in compliance with this agency’s directives on infants feeding pattern and techniques are indeed numerous. Apart from fostering a very strong mother –baby relationship via the promotion of a psychological bond between babies and their mothers, utilising breast milk for feeding infants ordinarily reduces the risk of mothers developing breast cancer, cervical or ovarian cancers.

It also helps to prevent obesity, complications at child birth, maternal mortality as well as check social ills. Breastfeeding accords babies the opportunity and ability to grow faster, stronger, healthier, and garner the needed weight, reduces risk of infections and enables mothers to speedily return to pre-pregnancy weight as well as encourages child spacing.

Conclusively, therefore, the promotion, protection as well as outright support for exclusive breastfeeding as a more ideal nutrition for new born babies should be embraced by all and sundry in the interest of our infants and the nation in general.

We must all heed the music of reasoning being played by NAFDAC, since to be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Written by: Ikhilae.

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