Mrs. Toyin Ojora-Saraki, Founder of Wellbeing Foundation Africa, WBFA, has stated that nursing is the best food security for infants because it is the perfect, safest, and cheaper source of nourishment for babies.
Making the announcement during the 2022 Breastfeeding Week, entitled “Set Up for Breastfeeding and Educating Support,”
Speaking on the importance of breastfeeding, Ojora-Saraki, said: “Breastfeeding is food security for infants from the very beginning of life. Placing the mother-baby dyad at the core of our programming at Wellbeing Foundation Africa tackles early initiation and nutrition supplementation, to end cycles of poor health.”
WBFA implemented the WBFA-UNFPA-Nutrition International Mamacare + NutritionLift (Mamacare+N) campaign from 2018 to 2021, and it had a significant impact in 30 selected facilities and 32 communities in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Kwara, and Lagos states.
Midwives utilized the Laerdal breast models to explain best breastfeeding habits to pregnant women and nursing moms during the effective program.
She stated that the initiative resulted in constant top performance in the aforementioned states in reducing maternal neonatal, child mortality and morbidity rates, therefore improving survival indices, with Kwara State having the lowest mortality and morbidity in Nigeria.
“In the first quarter of 2020, WBFA launched the Alive and Thrive project, an initiative to save lives, prevent illness, and ensure healthy growth and development through improved breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, and purchased and donated 370 newly purchased breast models, breast jackets, and infant models to 670 health facilities in Lagos and Kaduna State for ongoing support,” the statement reads.
WBFA has taught over 547 healthcare personnel to far utilizing Laerdal Global Health simulation training models, as the foundation continues to commit to improving the educational experience for mothers during antenatal classes and strengthening their confidence in preparation for childbirth and lactation. (Vanguard)
