Banjul — The breastfeeding campaign embarked upon by the National Nutrition Agency (NaNA), in collaboration with Unicef, is indeed gaining momentum.

The purpose of the campaign is to sensitise women and lactating mothers on exclusive breastfeeding in emergency, among others. Recently, a sensitisation forum was held at the Faji Kunda Health Centre and The Gambia Family Planning Association (GFPA) in Kanifing. Malang Janneh, nutrition officer at the National Nutrition Agency, said mothersÂ' practices on exclusive breastfeeding was established 14 years ago, adding that still now they are advocating mothers to breastfeed their babies.

He revealed that about eighteen communities were trained on baby-friendly community initiatives, on exclusive breastfeeding in western region. He added that they have now trained eight other communities, bringing it to a total of twenty-six communities. Janneh also observed that the number of communities is low compared to other regions. Â"We still appeal to mothers to disseminate the message to their friends, families, relatives and neighbours, because now the issue is that we want to have more mothers to practice exclusive breastfeeding in urban areas,Â" he remarked.

He further revealed that it is evident that more mothers in the rural areas are already practicing exclusive breastfeeding, saying: Â"this we mean no food and no water should be given to the child for six months,Â" he added. "I am appealing to the women in the urban areas to emulate those mothers who are practising exclusive breastfeeding, so that we can have our current rates of 41% upwards of the national figures being rose significantly,Â" he noted.

Â"Breastfeeding would promote and enhance the educational system because breastfed kids are known to be very smart and intelligent and that they will have a brighter future. Together we are promoting peace and stability because breastfed kids are not known to be arrogant. Again we are trying to reduce the non-communicable diseases," he disclosed.

Janneh further observed that breastfeeding might reduce the admission rate in hospitals and directly and indirectly reduce the cost of government spending. He thanked the staff of Faji Kunda Health Centre and The Gambia Family Planning Association for their endeavours in conducting the breastfeeding week successfully. He also outlined the important role NaNA plays in coordinating the activities. Janneh finally thanked Unicef who is the main sponsor of the programme. The occasion was marked by question and answer session, and those who got the answers right were awarded prizes.