<<Print>>

Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, the First Lady, has said it is worrying that Ghanaian children continue to lose out on the many benefits that exclusive breastfeeding provides.

She said, currently, only 52 per cent of Ghanaian mothers practice exclusive breastfeeding and this deprives many babies the major nutritional, health and psychological benefits of breastfeeding.

Mrs Akufo-Addo said this at the National launch of the World breastfeeding week at Takoradi in the Western Region.
The event was held under the theme: “Sustaining breastfeeding together”.

She said breastfeeding is a God-given process which ensures that fresh babies and toddlers receive the right nutrition from birth.

"This is why I recently launched my initiative; reducing malaria and malnutrition in priority populations to reduce the high rates of severe under-nutrition and the high incidence of malaria which has negative consequences on health and survival of children under five”.

Mrs Akufo Addo said studies on the value of breastfeeding for mothers and babies was very compelling and called for a concerted action to help achieve the 80 per cent target by 2021 on exclusive breastfeeding.

The First Lady said there is the need to mobilize and engage with a wide range of actors to promote and support the breastfeeding campaign.

She said there is the need to improve the current support systems and create a conducive environment for women to breastfeed in workplaces and strengthen agencies to curtail the marketing of breast milk substitutes.

Mrs Akufo-Addo said resources must be harnessed to develop messages and undertake communication campaigns and employers must abide by the maternity leave regulations as specified under the International Labour Organization Maternity Protection Convention.

The First Lady said inter-agency collaboration and coordination, resource mobilization, advocacy and monitoring of related policies and actions is critical in order to ensure that every child born in Ghana survived.

Mrs Akufo Addo expressed gratitude for the commitment of many health sector players, development partners and other stakeholders in prioritizing breastfeeding promotions.