By Bior Aquilla – 27 Sep 2024
South Sudan’s Ministry of Health, in collaboration with UNICEF, called on mothers to exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months to enhance their health and development. Speaking at the event in Juba, UNICEF’s Hamida Laseko urged mothers to avoid substituting breast milk with formulas.
“The first six months, you shouldn’t be giving your baby anything; you shouldn’t be spending your money to buy artificial milk, which is very expensive, but rather using that natural breast milk that God has given us. You look at the goat, you look at the cow; they are all breastfeeding. It is the natural way. So, we human beings, why are we going against our God? Why do we go and buy all this water and many other things? I think poverty starts with those who are buying those unnecessary materials to feed the babies instead of giving the breastmilk.”
Hamida emphasized the importance of mothers maintaining good health to exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months. She highlighted that breastfeeding is crucial in preventing malnutrition, infant illness, and death, particularly from common childhood diseases like diarrhea and pneumonia. Exclusive breastfeeding during this period provides essential nutrients, supporting optimal health, growth, and cognitive development in infants.
“And if even if sometimes people say oh, this woman she cannot breastfeed. We have seen mothers even as malnourished as they have been, but the moment they put a baby on the breast, the milk comes out, and the baby breastfeeds. But that’s why its really important to make sure that the mothers are also in good health so that they are able to breastfeed.”
She noted that UNICEF and the World Food Program (WFP) are boosting nutritional support in food-insecure regions to help mothers breastfeed their babies more effectively.
“Our work with WFP here in South Sudan is working together, particularly in areas where there is food insecurity, and it is because we really want to support and reach those mothers so that they can breastfeed. But also children who have gone to schools so that they can continue with good feeding practices. And I really want to express my appreciation to the government of South Sudan for their commitment. I have visited many locations in a number of states, and I have seen the efforts whereby mothers are even promoting support groups, such as women’s support groups. But also they are promoting gardening through also the support of FAO, who is another key partner.”
Despite being a natural practice, breastfeeding is often surrounded by myths that discourage mothers. Dr. Margaret Amum from Al Sabah Children’s Hospital in Juba noted that many infants suffer from diarrhea because mothers don’t adhere to exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. Some mothers mistakenly believe that breast milk alone isn’t enough and give their babies water, which is sometimes contaminated, leading to illness.
“Mothers sometimes breastfeed and give the child water, which is wrong. Our water is not clean. The breastmilk of the mother itself is 90% water. Mothers sometimes are misinformed and say can you give a child milk without water? This practice is not right because breastmilk is mostly water. You give dirty water, and the child will get diarrhoea, and later [it will] cause malnutrition.”
Dr. Amum was addressing the case of a two-month-old baby being treated for fever and diarrhea at Al Sabah Children’s Hospital. The baby, whose mother passed away during childbirth, is being fed formula milk by a guardian who believes this may have caused the illness.
“The child’s mother is dead. Once the child fell sick, I come to this hospital. The money to take the child for a check-up is not there, and the father is sick. I just sit here waiting for help. If medicine for the kid is brought, I give him and if formula is brought, I also give the child. When his mother died, we gave him this ‘ formula,’ and it caused complications in the stomach and caused him diarrhea.” Said the guardian
Dr. Margaret Amum emphasized that diarrhea often results from improper feeding practices and stressed the critical importance of exclusively breastfeeding a child from birth to six months.
“Sometimes mothers make the feeding bottle without cleaning it well, causing hygienic problems. To avoid it, it’s better to breastfeed naturally. From the hygienic problem, the child gets diarrhea, and every time will be prone to it because the feeding bottle is not clean, causing a recurring infection of diarrhea. The recurring infection will develop into malnutrition.
This story is reported with a grant from journalists for human rights under the ‘tackling mis/disinformation project’ funded by the peace and stabilization program of the government of Canada.