Niger State First Lady urges stakeholders to support breastfeeding-friendly workplaces
Hajiya Fatima Bago, Wife of Niger State Governor, has called on stakeholders to create breastfeeding-friendly workplaces and provide lactation rooms, flexible schedules to accommodate nursing mothers.
She made the call during the inauguration of 2025 World Breastfeeding Week organised by Niger Ministry for Primary Healthcare in collaboration with office of the First Lady in Minna on Thursday.
The theme of the World Breastfeeding Week is “Prioritise Breastfeeding, Create a Sustainable Support System.
She emphasised the importance of breastfeedingg, saying breast milk was nature’s perfect gift, a complete source of nourishment that strengthens mother and child bond and safeguards child’s health.
She added that exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, followed by continued breastfeeding alongside complementary feeding up to two years and beyond provides unmatched benefits.
“For babies, it protects against infectionz allergies and diseases, for mothers, it reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, aids post delivery recovery and promotes emotional well-being,” she said.
The governor’s wife noted that inspite of these benefits, many nursing mothers still face significant barriers from lack of information and societal pressure to unsupportive work environment.
She urged stakeholders to create breastfeeding-friendly workplaces, honour maternity leave and provide lactation rooms for nursing mothers.
He promised to use her office to continue to champion initiatives that promote mother-and-child health, advocate for policies that enable breastfeeding, and support programmes that create safe and inclusive spaces for nursing mothers.
In his address, the Commissioner, Niger State Ministry of Primary Healthcare, Dr Dangana Ibrahim, reiterated that Niger government had approved six months paid maternity leave for lactating mothers and two weeks paternity leave for fathers.
Ibrahim who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Mohammed Gana, said the state government was committed to providing resources and championing best practices for work related breastfeeding support across the state.
He disclosed that the exclusive breastfeeding rates in the state stands at 13.2 per cent while vitamin A supplementation was at 98 per cent.
Also speaking, Dr Ahmed Tsofo, Health Specialist, UNICEF Kaduna Field Office, commended Niger government for approving paid maternity leave of six months for new members and two week paternity leave for fathers to support breastfeeding.
He reiterated UNICEF’s commitment to supporting Niger government in promoting breastfeeding Nd maternal and child health.
