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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it has prohibited the promotion and sales of Breastmilk Substitute (BMS) in health facilities.
Mrs Rahila Maishanu, BMS Desk Officer, NAFDAC, Kaduna Office stated this in Zaria, at a one-day training of health workers on the BMS Code and its compliance.
The training was organised by the state Primary Health Care Board in collaboration with NAFDAC and supported by a global nutrition initiative, Alive & Thrive, under its Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition programme.
She said the prohibition was in line with the International Code for Marketing of BMS adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1981 to promote protect and support optimal breastfeeding practices.
She described breastfeeding as a “high impact, low technology, cost effective” intervention for child survival and optimal cognitive development and sustainability.
She said however, that sadly that the practice was still very low with a national average for early initiation of breastfeeding at 23 per cent, while Kaduna state was at 13 per cent.
She added that the national average for exclusive breastfeeding stood at 34.4 per cent with Kaduna State a little bit higher at 41 per cent.
She attributed part of the problem to the aggressive marketing and promotion of BMS among mothers in communities including health facilities. The desk officer said that the BMS Code and National Regulation among other things, prohibited the promotion of BMS and related products, including the distribution of free or low-cost supplies in health facilities.
She said that NAFDAC was empowered by law to implement, monitor, and enforce the provision of the International Code of Marketing BMS, under the provisions of the NAFDAC Act Cap N1 LFN 2004.
She said that the BMS Code served as a weapon to protect breastfeeding from the negative impact of aggressive advertising and marketing techniques by infant food manufacturers on breastfeeding practices.
Maishanu said the Code was developed as a global public health strategy to protect breastfeeding mothers from the aggressive marketing of baby foods and ensure safe feeding and better nutrition for babies.
