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Breastfeeding in the first two years of a child’s life can avert 12% of the six million child deaths that are occurring each year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

Not only does breastfeeding reduce the risk of post-partum haemorrhage, it decreases a woman’s risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
Prolonged breastfeeding also increases a child’s intelligence, lifelong educational attainment and income.

The National Co-ordinator of Child Health Programme of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Isabella Sagoe-Moses, at the launch of the World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) 2015, also pointed out that inappropriate feeding practice remained the greatest threat to child health and survival in the country and globally.

According to her, the WBW celebration was to contribute towards the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding by increasing awareness about the role of breastfeeding in child survival.

She added that the celebration was to advocate the creation and maintenance of an enabling environment for breastfeeding.
Dr Sagoe stated that breastfeeding was the single most effective intervention for infant health, adding that it did not have to compete with other foods.

Deputy Minister for Health, Dr Victor Bampoe stated the goal of this year’s WBW is to galvanise multi-dimensional support from all sectors to enable women working everywhere in Ghana to work and breastfeed safely and adequately.

He added that it is also to promote actions by employers to become baby- and mother-friendly and actively facilitate and support employed women to continue breastfeeding their children for as long as necessary.

Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Gloria Quansah Asare was no exception in the advocacy of six-month exclusive breastfeeding.

She said early initiation of breastfeeding reduces neonatal deaths, which in Ghana account for an estimated 40% of deaths in the first five years of life.

According to her, breastfeeding, when done properly, can reduce malnutrition, which is responsible for a third of the mortalities in children under five.

She was also of the view that breastfeeding, when initiated within the first hour of delivery, reduces maternal bleeding, which is one of the major causes of maternal mortality in Ghana.

This year’s breastfeeding week, which is under the theme ‘Breastfeeding and Work: Let’s make it work,’ is to empower and support all working women to breastfeed.