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Hajia Ayishetu Bukari, Central Gonja District Director of Ghana Health Service, has expressed the need for employers to ensure that work places are conducive for exclusive breastfeeding practices.

She urged employers to provide the necessary facilities to enable women to breastfeed their children saying exclusive breastfeeding is important in ensuring good health for children.

Hajia Bukari was speaking at a durbar organized by the Resiliency in Northern Ghana Project (RING) and partners to climax this year’s World Breastfeeding Week Celebration aimed at creating awareness about the practice.

This year’s celebration was under the theme: “Breastfeeding: A Key to Sustainable Development”.

RING, which is sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is working in some districts in the northern parts of Ghana to improve nutrition and livelihood status of women and children.   

Ms Kristen Kappos, Nutrition Manager of USAID RING, said “Good nutrition starts during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life – between a woman’s pregnancy and the child’s second birthday”.

She said breastfeeding was a critical practice to help ensure that a child thrived during his or her first 1,000 days of life adding that mothers should give only breastmilk to their children from birth up to six months, and continue breastfeeding whiles giving solid foods from six months to age two.

She said breastmilk contained important nutrients and kept babies growing healthy and strong as well as protected them against illnesses like diarrhea and pneumonia.

Alhaji Sorfo Muntari, Northern Regional Nutrition Officer, said stunting and other nutritional issues remained a challenge in the region and advised parents to breastfeed their children to curb the situation.