The Osun State Government in southwest Nigeria has encouraged nursing mothers to exclusively breastfeed their infants for the first six months to ensure optimal health and development.
Speaking at a one-day sensitisation meeting in Osogbo on Wednesday, as part of activities marking World Breastfeeding Week 2025, the State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Barrister Kolapo Alimi, highlighted the nutritional and developmental benefits of breast milk.
“An infant that is adequately fed with its mother’s milk would grow well and come down with the barest minimum of early childhood disease,” he said, describing breast milk as a perfect nutritional mix for a child’s growth.
Alimi urged husbands to support their wives during breastfeeding, noting its benefits extend to mothers and families.
“The benefits of breastfeeding are many and multifarious. They do not only accrue to the babies being fed; they extend to the nursing mothers themselves and their families.
“That is why we implore all husbands and fathers to encourage their wives to adopt the option of exclusive breastfeeding for infants within the first six months of life.
“Men should support their wives during the period of breastfeeding because the child’s overall development is tied to how well it is fed with the mother’s breast milk,” he said.
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He also advised mothers to avoid substituting breast milk with formula.
Professor Maruf Adeleke, Commissioner for Economic Planning, Budget and Development, reinforced that no substitute matches the value of breast milk.
He noted that the state’s 2023 Food and Nutrition Policy supports nursing mothers and their families by promoting balanced diets.
“As a government, we believe that a well-fed mother will be well predisposed to breastfeed her baby. And of course, if a mother is well fed, her milk will contain all the required nutrients in their right proportions for the child to take,” he said.
Adeleke highlighted the United Nations Food Transformation Pathway programme, with Osun as the coordinating state for the southwest, aimed at ensuring food security and reducing unemployment through agriculture.
“As we speak, there’s a United Nations programme called Food Transformation Pathway in the state. It is aimed at ensuring that there’s food security.
“It also targets unemployment using agriculture, and I’m happy to say that Osun state has been picked as the coordinating state for the entire southwest, and this is relevant to what we’re talking about today,” he added.
Adeleke called on stakeholders to intensify advocacy to help Nigeria achieve its national exclusive breastfeeding targets.
The meeting was attended by government officials, representatives of faith-based organisations, women and child rights advocates, and nursing mothers across Osun State.