The UN children’s agency UNICEF said on Friday that exclusive breastfeeding of Somali children could save thousands of lives every year in the Horn of African nation where one child in every ten dies before its first birthday.
UNICEF Representative to Somalia Rozanne Chorlton said in a statement issued in Nairobi that the national surveys in the lawless nation show that less than ten percent of infants under six months of age are exclusively breast-fed.
“Breastfeeding is extremely important among the preventive measures to reduce malnutrition, death and disease among young Somali children,” Chorton said ahead of the start of World Breastfeeding Week to be held on Aug. 1-7.
“In fact it is critical, when one out of every six Somali children is acutely malnourished and young children bear the burden of the lack of clean water and adequate sanitation,” Chorlton said.
The theme of World Breastfeeding Week 2009 is “Breastfeeding, a Vital Emergency Response” and in Somalia’s emergency context UNICEF is highlighting the significance of breastfeeding for the survival and development of Somali infants and young children.
With almost half the Somali population in need of emergency humanitarian assistance, breastfeeding is a vital emergency response that has the potential to prevent 13 to 15 percent of all under five deaths.
Scientific evidence documented in the Lancet journal has established that exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months can have the single largest impact on child survival of all preventive interventions.
Beyond six months, breastfeeding combined with appropriate complementary food, contributes to a further six percent reduction in deaths among children under five.
“It is alarming that despite the enormous benefits of breastfeeding, the practice is declining by the day in Somalia,” said Fitsum Assefa, Nutrition Specialist in UNICEF Somalia.
“Formula and powdered milk may be popular ways to feed infants and children, but people should know that infant formula and powdered milk offer no immune system protection and can harm the infant’s gut defense mechanism, making children more prone to infection, especially in Somalia where hygiene and sanitation conditions are very poor,” added Assefa.
The near-universal Somali practice of discarding “colostrum” ( the first milk, full of essential nutrients and immunity), delaying the initiation of breastfeeding and using unhygienically- prepared formula and powdered milk, are contributing factors towards Somalia’s global acute malnutrition levels of 18.6 percent, significantly above the emergency threshold of 15 percent.
Reasons for low levels of breastfeeding in Somalia include lack of knowledge of the importance of the practice, vigorous advertizing of infant formulas and the persistence of inaccurate information including the myths that malnourished mothers are unable to breastfeed, that stress dries up breast milk, or that children under six months old need to be given water.
“Although interventions that aim to promote breastfeeding are vital for child survival, the unfortunate reality is that not enough emphasis and investment on those interventions are given in Somalia,” said Chorlton.
Source:Â CRIENGLISH
Excellent article. It was helpful and informative. hope to see more greats posts like this.