Honorable Minister; Esteemed dignitaries; Ladies and Gentlemen; on behalf of Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki; Wife of the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Special Advisor to the World Health Organization Africa Regional Office (WHO AFRO), Goodwill Ambassador for the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), I extend Her Excellency’s sincere thanks for the invitation to join you here today and her apologies for being unable to attend in person. I am Amy Oyekunle, CEO of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, and it is my privilege to deliver the following Goodwill Message from Her Excellency today. 

We salute the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health for hosting this event to discuss progress made on promoting breastfeeding in Nigeria. We are gathered here today, during World Breastfeeding Week, which commemorates the Innocenti Declaration signed in August 1990 by governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and other organizations, to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. All of us assembled here today will know that breastfeeding is the best way to provide infants with the nutrients they need. The WHO recommends the commencement of exclusive breastfeeding within one hour after birth, and until a baby is 6 months old. Nutritious complementary foods should then be added while continuing to breastfeed for up to 2 years or beyond. 

The campaign focus for the WHO during this year’s World Breastfeeding Week is the importance of helping mothers breastfeed their babies with the first hour of life. That crucial first hour is one which all mothers and healthcare professionals must hold to be of the utmost importance. The so-called ‘first vaccine’ of a baby is the goal: the first skin-to-skin contact along with suckling at the breast stimulates the production of breastmilk, including colostrum, which provides a rich dose of nutrients and antibodies. 

In 2012, the World Health Assembly Resolution 65.6 endorsed a Comprehensive implementation plan on maternal, infant and young child nutrition which specified six global nutrition targets for 2025 – including increasing the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months up to at least 50%.  For Nigeria to move towards such a rate, we must heed the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, but also adopt a multi-sectoral, partnerships-based approach.

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa, of which I am the Founder-President, is a proud partner of Alive and Thrive, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and managed by FHI360. Alive & Thrive saves lives, prevents illness and ensures healthy growth and development through improved breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, through a four-pronged approach:  policy and advocacy; interpersonal communication and community mobilization; mass communication; and strategic use of data.

Alongside McCann Global Health, the Wellbeing Foundation is leading on the development and scale-up of a private sector model for breastfeeding support and is part of a consortium working on comprehensive social and behavior change communication (SBCC) strategies, especially the adaptation of the Nigeria national SBCC Strategy of the Federal Ministry of Health, to Kaduna and Lagos States, and detailing a mass media plan at the national level.

Our mandate is to improve Behaviour Change Communication practices in private health facilities in ten Local Government areas in Lagos State with a target reach of 27,942 pregnant women and 9,471 pregnant women in four LGAs in Kaduna. Our next phase is a substantial scale up to approximately 691 facilities in Lagos and 54 facilities in Kaduna by November 2018. An important part of our work has been the assessment and evaluation of practices that are already being undertaken, as without a thorough grasp of existing practices, population and facility practices, we will be unable to achieve any of our ambitious targets.

I would like to end this Goodwill Message by highlighting the importance of midwives in promoting breastfeeding. At the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, our MamaCare midwives are able to instil the importance of exclusive breastfeeding in all the expectant mothers who attend our antenatal care classes, and during postpartum classes and home visits to check up on progress. Any successful strategy to promote breastfeeding in Nigeria must include a commitment to improving the effective deployment of qualified midwives.

Thank you again for the opportunity to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week with you all, and I look forward to working together with all partners to save lives and improve health outcomes in Nigeria through the effective promotion and support of breastfeeding.