Stakeholders have called on governments across Nigeria to adopt and implement six months of paid maternity leave, describing the policy as essential to improving exclusive breastfeeding, reducing maternal and child mortality, and promoting healthier families.
Key Highlights
- Stakeholders advocate six-month paid maternity leave for nursing mothers.
- UNICEF says only 14 states currently provide the policy.
- Experts call for family-friendly workplace policies to boost exclusive breastfeeding.
- Kano marks World Breastfeeding Week 2026 with awareness campaign.
- NAFDAC reiterates commitment to regulating breast milk substitutes.
The appeal was made on Thursday during a road walk organised by the Nutrition Unit of the Kano State Ministry of Health in collaboration with UNICEF to commemorate World Breastfeeding Week 2026 in Kano.
The awareness walk, themed “Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works,” took participants from the School of Hygiene to the Emir’s Palace, where stakeholders renewed calls for stronger policies to support nursing mothers.
Speaking at the event, the Chief of UNICEF Kano Field Office, Shafeeq Ur-Rehman, said successful breastfeeding depends on strong support from governments, healthcare systems, workplaces, families and communities.
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He noted that many women return to work shortly after childbirth, making it difficult to practise exclusive breastfeeding during the recommended first six months of a child’s life.
Ur-Rehman urged Kano State and other states yet to implement six months of paid maternity leave to adopt the policy, noting that only 14 states currently provide the benefit.
“Workplaces should provide six months of paid maternity leave, flexible work schedules, breastfeeding breaks, private lactation spaces and facilities for safely storing expressed breast milk,” he said.
He described breast milk as a child’s first vaccine against disease, malnutrition and preventable deaths, adding that increased breastfeeding could save hundreds of thousands of mothers and children annually while reducing the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases among women.
The UNICEF official, however, expressed concern that although more than 90 per cent of Nigerian mothers breastfeed their babies, optimal breastfeeding practices remain low.
According to him, only a small proportion of newborns are breastfed within the first hour after birth, while exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months remains below recommended levels nationwide.
Also speaking, the Kano State Nutrition Officer, Aishatu Suleiman, said the campaign aims to promote exclusive breastfeeding from birth to six months and encourage mothers to continue breastfeeding until children reach two years of age.
She explained that breast milk contains all the nutrients babies need during their first six months, strengthens their immune systems and helps prevent malnutrition, which remains a major public health concern in Kano State.
Suleiman added that Kano State would commemorate World Breastfeeding Week 2026 with a three-day programme to raise awareness on the benefits of breastfeeding.
Also, a representative of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Halima Katagum, said the agency would continue enforcing regulations against the aggressive marketing of breast milk substitutes to safeguard and promote exclusive breastfeeding across Nigeria.
