Accelerated Nutrition Results Nigeria (ANRiN) on Thursday revealed that the Oyo State Government had achieved 58.7 per cent achievement in exclusive breastfeeding among women of reproductive age.
Dr. Khadijah Alarape, Project Coordinator of the ANRiN Oyo Project Implementation Unit, said this at the National Food and Nutrition Board stakeholder meeting organized by the ANRiN Project, which was held at the Owu Crown Hotel in Ibadan.
Delighted by the latest figures from the MICS 2022 survey, the ANRIN PC said the increase showed that pregnant and breastfeeding women are now aware of the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for their children’s general health.
She thanked Governor Engineer Seyi Makinde for supporting the increase of maternity leave for pregnant women from 3 months to 6 months and ANRiN for implementing 7 essential nutrition services in 33 LGAs in the state.
According to her, it has really helped the status of exclusive breastfeeding in the state over the past two years.
“The Governor should be thanked for helping our mothers get 6 months of maternity leave. It really helps. This is confirmed by the statistics available on the nutritional index that the state is doing very well in terms of exclusive breastfeeding. Although we need to do more work on stunting rates in the state.
While calling for more collaboration among SCFN members, Dr Alarape said that each nutrition line ministry must allocate budget for nutrition activities in its various MDAs.
She reiterated ANRiN’s efforts to provide cost-effective nutrition services to pregnant and lactating women, teenage girls and children under the age of 5 across the state.
She also said two non-state actors, Solina Health Ltd and Save the Children, were currently working in communities across the state to provide basic nutrition packages for pregnant and nursing mothers and children under five.
In his welcome address, Director of Development Partnerships, Ministry of Budget and Planning, Mr. Moruf Oyetunji said the meeting is statutory and is held quarterly to review nutrition interventions and address malnutrition in the state.
In another development, the Oyo state government has assured road users of the Oyo-Fazola-Issein highway and its surrounding areas that the new Ogun River Bridge on the highway will be opened to traffic as soon as the project is nearing completion.
Public Works and Transport Commissioner Prof Dahud Kehinde Sangodoyin gave the assurance while inspecting construction of the 34.8km Oyo-Fasola-Iseyin road starting in 2021.
Professor Sangodoyin praised Governor Engineer Seyi Makinde for his tireless efforts to improve the state’s agriculture and economy by building good roads, while imploring citizens to protect any facilities provided by the government from unnecessary repairs.