By: Mohamed M. Sesay
On Friday the 29th of July 2022, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and its partners started a week long Breastfeeding Celebration which will commence on the 1st August-7th August 2022. This celebration was done in the form of a press conference held at the Ministry’s conference hall urging journalists and other actors to embark on breastfeeding education to improve and increase the capacity of all actors who work along the warm chain on breastfeeding week.
In his statement on behalf of the Health Ministry, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Alieu Wurie, said that breast milk is perfectly designed and deliberately designed by “our creator, not by chance” as a child’s nutritional and immunological need. He added that it is naturally renewable food that improves nutrition and strengthens immune systems, ensures food security and minimizes equality in terms of food nutritional needs for the children.
Explaining the importance of breastfeeding week, the Deputy Director, Food and Nutrition, MoHS, Solade Pyne-Banley, said breastfeeding is a ”life-saving practice and developmental issue”, stating that it provides all the nutritional and immunological needs for the child’s growth and development. She informed the audience that it is the most effective and affordable source of antibodies. She also admonished breastfeeding also supports a child’s ability to learn and helps prevent chronic diseases.
The Deputy Director furthered that breastfeeding is one of the best investments for saving infant lives and improving the social development of individuals and nations. She added that breastfeeding is an essential part of good nutrition, noting that food security and poverty reduction, also address the inequalities that stand in the way of sustainable development.
“Women need support from many actors at different levels to optimally breastfeed. There is an urgent need for education to improve and increase the capacity of all the actors along the warm chain” she urged.
Health Specialist from UNICEF, Dr Hailemarian Legesse, told Journalists and stakeholders that breastfeeding provides children with the best start in life. He disclosed that breastfeeding is a baby’s best source of nutrition, bolstering brain development with lifelong benefits for the mother and the baby.
He continued that during difficult periods when fuel, utility and market prices are soaring high, the lifesaving importance of breastfeeding is more important than ever. He acknowledged that Children face multiple threats during a crisis. He said many households have limited access to food, clean water and sanitation, basic health care and other essential services. He considered such conditions as a recipe to put the youngest and the most vulnerable children at risk of infectious diseases and severe malnutrition.
Country Health and Nutrition Advisor, World Vision International Sierra Leone (WVISL), Saffa Andrew Koroma, expressed gratitude to the MoHS, for their commitment to attaining the health-focused SDGs through the Universal Health Coverage Roadmap 2021-2030 and the review of the National Health and Sanitation Policy, the Health Sector Strategic Plan, Health Financing Strategy for nutrition and the review of the national policy.
“As an organization, WVISL is committed to supporting the Government in improving the status of exclusive breastfeeding and other sensitive nutrition indicators,” he said.
The Health Education Officer at MoHS, who also doubles as the Chairman for that occasion Harold Thomas, intimated to journalists that the role of journalists is very important noting that, the media can influence the audience and impact their feelings about the current event as well affecting people’s behavior. He expressed that it was the reason they have been working with journalists all along with the strong objective of disseminating sound and accurate information to the public.
He said journalists are major stakeholders in the health care delivery services in Sierra Leone and they are key influential to ensuring success in health intervention and that is what they have been doing in excellent. He concluded by encouraging journalists to continue to be agents of change particularly in the area of saving lives.
