By Ramatoulie Jawo
World Breastfeeding Week is a global event dedicated to promoting the vital benefits of breastfeeding for both infants and mothers. In observance of this important week, the National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) hosted a press conference at their Kanifing office on Thursday, aiming to update journalists on breastfeeding’s significance.
This year’s theme, “Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All,” seeks to build on last year’s achievements. The press conference served as a forum for renowned speakers and seasoned healthcare professionals to discuss various aspects of breastfeeding.
The event highlighted the numerous advantages of breastfeeding and addressed the challenges faced by mothers. Acting Executive Director of NaNA, Malang N. Fofana, outlined the objectives for this year’s World Breastfeeding Week and noted that rates of exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months have shown consistent improvement over the years.
“In The Gambia, breastfeeding is a deeply rooted cultural norm, where almost every mother breastfeeds their child. The rates of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months have steadily increased over the years. According to the DHS, exclusive breastfeeding rate has increased from 48% in 2013 to 54% in 2019/20. This has been realized through collaboration between the government agencies, ministries, and departments with our development partners,” he said.
Mr. Fofona underscored the continued need for increased support to enhance, safeguard, and promote optimal nutrition for infants and young children. He stressed that achieving the 60% target set by the National Nutrition Policy 2021-2025 and the 70% Global Nutrition Target by 2030, established by the World Health Assembly, requires ongoing efforts.
He urged both public and private institutions to foster work environments that are supportive and accommodating, especially for breastfeeding employees.
Dr. Yulia Widiati, the Child Survival and Development Manager at UNICEF, noted that The Gambia is among the few countries that have made notable strides in exclusive breastfeeding, with 54% of children exclusively breastfed in 2019.
“The country is on course to achieve the 2025 global nutrition target of increasing the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months up to at least 50%. While this is a significant improvement, many women across the country face barriers, such as harmful marketing practices, lack of access to quality healthcare, and weak family friendly policies, when making infant feeding decisions,” she added.
She emphasized that in order to achieve the World Health Assembly’s target of 50 percent by 2025 and the global goal of 70 percent by 2030, it is essential to overcome these barriers. She also highlighted that UNICEF is assisting the Government of The Gambia in addressing and removing these obstacles.
“Today, as we mark this special occasion, we reconfirm our commitment to supporting the Government and call on the Government of The Gambia to ensure investments in breastfeeding by creating national line budgets for breastfeeding to strengthen practices, policies, and programs.
“It is gratifying to note that The Gambia has already exceeded the Global Nutrition Target of increasing exclusive breastfeeding to 50% by 2025, all the stakeholders that have contributed to this achievement are highly commended. The Government through NaNA and partners are committed and willing to work with every stakeholder to invest in optimizing infants and young children’s health and nutrition and together will endeavour to continue to maintain and sustain the gains made,” she highlighted.
The Deputy Director of Health Promotion, and Education at the Ministry of Health, Sanjally Trawalley, underscored the importance of breastfeeding, describing it as a basic human right that is expected to be exercised by every parent.
“Our advocacy message is for every child to have access to breastfeeding as it is not only healthy for mothers, but also protects children from sickness and help in their growth especially within the first six months after birth,” he said.
Breastfeeding gives babies the best start for a healthy life and has benefits for the health and well-being of mothers and babies.
Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended until babies are around six months of age, with the introduction of appropriate complementary feeding foods and drinks other than breastmilk at this age, in addition to continued breastfeeding to 12 months and beyond, for as long as the mother and child desire.
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