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From Paul Orude Bauchi
Bauchi State House of Assembly is set to enact a law to increase maternity leave from three months six months to promote breastfeeding and boost child survival.
Chairman, House Committee on Health, Honourable Lawal Dauda, disclosed this in Azare on Wednesday, at a Media Dialogue organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Bauchi Field Office.
The Media Dialogue, which is part of efforts to commemorate the annual World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), drew participants from UNICEF Bauchi Field Office in Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Plateau and Taraba States.
Dauda, who represents Sade constituency, revealed that the proposed law if enacted, would promote best breastfeeding practices and save the lives of children under the age of five.
The state lawmaker explained that the move became necessary following request by stakeholders and international partners to extend maternity leave to support promotion of exclusive breastfeeding and healthy children in the state.
“We had brainstorming meeting with key stakeholders including donor partners on enabling breastfeeding for working mothers,” he said.
“As House of Assembly members representing our constituents, we will ensure that there is improved breastfeeding practices that have potentials to save lives of many children under five years”
The lawmaker said the House at a plenary session l, reviewed the need to extend the current maternity from three months to six.
“The request by Her Excellency, the First Lady of Bauchi State, was to make it to be six months,” he said.
“The Assembly members are committed to ensure that we pass that law.
“I assure you that since the First Lady is in the picture of what transpired there, she will encourage her husband to implement that law God willing
“Our responsibility is to pass law and I assure you that law will be history and Bauchi will be the first in the North East to pass that law.
“We are going to engage public hearing before we pass that law.
“We will engage the Heads of ministries and agencies, traditional rulers and the traditional rulers so that we discuss with them since we are representing them”
Speaking during the Media Dialogue, Dr. Tushar Rane, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Nigeria Bauchi Field Office, urged government and employers to provide the needed assistance for mothers and caregivers, including those in the informal sector or on temporary contracts to conveniently breastfeed or support breastfeeding.
“We must promote policies that encourage breastfeeding, such as paid maternity leave for six months, as well as paid paternity leave, flexible return-to-work options, regular lactation breaks during working hours and adequate facilities that enable mothers to continue exclusive breastfeeding for six months,” Rane said.
“When working parents and caregivers have sufficient paid leave, they can meet the essential nutritional needs of their young children”
In his welcome address during the Media Dialogue, the Executive Director of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed disclosed that as part of efforts to enact the law, advocacies and public hearings would be carried out to public institutions, MDAs, traditional rulers and others.
Mohammed said the executive arm of the state government is expected to submit a proposal to the state Assembly to that effect saying the experiences of Kaduna and Lagos, two states that have extended maternity leave, would be understudied.
The World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year to reiterate the importance of breast feeding for children, mother’s and socioeconomic development.
The 2023 WBW with the theme Enabling Breastfeeding: Making a difference for working parents, brings attention to workplace breastfeeding.
