NAFDAC tasks health workers on exclusive breast feeding skills

The National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control(NAFDAC), has urged health workers to provide skills to mothers on exclusive breastfeeding.

Mr Apollos Kassem, a senior regulatory officer with NAFDAC, gave the advice during a lecture on the Roles and Responsibilities of Health Workers in Implementing and Monitoring Breast Milk Substitutes Code, on Tuesday in Kaduna.

Kassem said that the implementations of the code would protect breastfeeding activities and ensure infant food were healthy for consumption.

He said mothers required skills on exclusive breastfeeding and adoption of Optimal and Young Child Feeding to ensure child survival, growth and development.

He said that health workers should avail mothers with the knowledge of the ten steps to successful breastfeeding.

“Ensure that mothers have accurate information to make appropriate feeding choices and practice optimal infant feeding,” he added.

According to him, proper monitoring the implementation of the milk substitute code was essential to ensure that previous gains on infant feeding were not eroded.

He said that regulators must track progress and ensure that the set targets of the code were achieved, and provide the right information for policy makers and legislature.

He noted that proper monitoring would also ensure that manufacturers of infant food did not adopt unwholesome practices in marketing their products.

Kassem advised health workers not to allow the advertising of any product or offer of free samples of milk substitutes and infant food to mothers in health facilities, as that was against the law.