- Borno State government to implement six-month maternity leave for working mothers on its payroll
- Efforts to improve breastfeeding facilities and achieve UN’s 50% exclusive breastfeeding target emphasized during World Breastfeeding Week
The Borno State government has stated that it will implement a six-month maternity leave for working mothers on the state government’s payroll.
Dr. Mohammed Ghuluze, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health and Human Services, stated this yesterday during a media briefing in Maiduguri to commemorate World Breastfeeding Week.
He stated that the state government provided four months of maternity leave for working mothers and that efforts were being made to extend it to six months.
This year’s World Breastfeeding Week, according to Ghuluze, is intended to galvanise action across multiple sectors, including the private sector, on how to improve existing breastfeeding facilities, create new ones where none exist, and consider the possibility of legislating policies that promote breastfeeding-friendly work environments.
The permanent secretary added that the state government was stepping up efforts to meet the United Nations’ target of 50 percent exclusive breastfeeding, up from the current 40 percent.
Working mothers, he claims, struggle to balance child care and work responsibilities, resulting in early breastfeeding cessation.
Women therefore need continued support from the government, health system, workplace and communities to play their critical role in empowering them and sustaining breastfeeding-friendly environments” the Permanent Secretary stressed, Ghuluze said.