|
|
Nigeria: Governor's Wife Assures Women of Good Governance
 |
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Leadership (Abuja)
7 August 2008
Posted to the web 7 August 2008
Osa Okhomina
Yenagoa
Wife of the Bayelsa State Governor, Mrs. Alanyingi Sylva, yesterday assured women in the state of the commitment of her husband's administration to reducing infant mortality rate in the state by 2015 and advised that such effort should be complemented with a culture of adequate breast feeding of their babies, as it has enormous benefits for both mothers and babies.
Mrs. Alanyingi Sylva gave the advice in Amassoma at a ceremony to mark the beginning of the World Breastfeeding Week organised by the Niger Delta University Women Association.
Such benefits according to her, include complete and comprehensive nourishment for the baby, aiding in the protection of the baby from sudden infant death syndrome and increasing the child's intelligent quotient (IQ).
She said breastfeeding has also been known to be advantageous to the mother in that it protects her from ovarian cancer and osteoporosis and reduces fat deposits that accumulate in the mother during pregnancy.
Mrs. Sylva maintained that the present administration is committed to child and maternal health care programmes to meet the Millennium Development Goals of a two/third reduction in child deaths by the year 2015.
The wife of the governor however, enjoined HIV positive mothers to use breast milk alternatives to avoid infecting their children, adding that such women need proper antenatal care to ensure the safety of their children.
She remarked that promoting sustainable maternal and child health programmes are the focus of her NGO and commended the Niger Delta University Women Association for keying into the theme of this year's World Breastfeeding Week which is, "Mothers Support Go for Gold" and for showing concern for children's issues.
Mrs. Sylva promised to partner with the association in the construction of a crèche at the University to cater for the developmental needs of children of mothers in the employ of the Niger Delta University .
In an address of welcome, the President of the Niger Delta University Women Association and wife of the Vice Chancellor of the University, Mrs. Anne Bere-ere Ikporukpo, disclosed that the association is a people-oriented organisation which has a vision to project a positive image of the University community by striving to make meaningful contributions to the society.
Mrs. Ikporukpo said in an attempt to achieve the association's objectives, they decided to provide a crèche for babies so that women of the University will have a safe and convenient abode for their babies while they work. She later formally installed the wife of the governor as the Grand Patron of the association.
|
The Acting Provost of the College of Health Sciences , Prof. Oruambo in a keynote lecture, disclosed that a decline in breastfeeding rates occasioned by advertising and promotion by manufacturers of breast milk substitutes like infant formulae has resulted in the high incidence of infectious diseases, such as diarrhea and acute respiratory infections.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Leadership. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
