By Koko Udonquak
The hall was filled to the brim. Breastfeeding mothers, 500 of them selected from each of the 31 Local Government Areas of the State had been brought to the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Uyo on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, at the instance of the wife of the Governor, Pastor Patience Umo Eno for the second edition of the yearly marked World Breastfeeding Week.
In Akwa Ibom State, the programme which aligns with the Maternal and Child Healthcare thematic area of the Governor’s wife pet project, Golden Initiative For All, GIFA, ranks as goal number 3 in the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs and aimes to among other things, promote maternal-child heathcare, a healthy population, as well provide a new vista of hope for nursing mothers in the rural communities.
The week-long event which had has theme ‘Closing the Gap: Break the Records, Break Barriers: Feeding Support For All, had Mrs. Eno in her remarks, commending the nursing mothers for being committed to exclusively breastfeeding their babies, describing such dedication “as an exhibition of great love, care and selflessness.”
The founder of GIFA pledged her commitment to continue supporting breastfeeding mothers through sensitisation and empowerment programmes stating that “maternal and child health is one of the thematic areas of my Pet Project, the Golden Initiative For All, GIFA.” She added that Governor Umo Eno is committed to ensuring that the healthcare facilities in the state are well equipped to provide proper care to nursing mothers across the state.
Pastor Patience Eno’s milk of human kindness was again on display as she rolled out special packed nursing kits and cash gifts to the nursing mothers who amongst them were a mother of quintuplets, triplets and twins, to the admiration of all present.
In her remarks at the event, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Dr. Ini Adiakpan, noted that breastfeeding is essential as it highlights a wider thought for the future and health of children as well as expose women to the strategies. Dr. Adiakpan stated that the State Government has made provisions for laws and policies to favour breastfeeding mothers that are interested in raising healthy and wealthy children, with best practices, urging the women to implement the lessons learnt.
In a keynote address on breastfeeding, Dr Christy Akwaowo, said the week which is marked from 1st to 7th of August every year, advocates for breastfeeding as the ideal food for all infants especially in the first six months of their lives and that it contains antibodies that protect the child from bacterial infections. She also mentioned benefits of breastfeeding to include, faster post partum recovery, increases the bond between mother and child, reduces the risk of high blood pressure, breast and ovarian cancers, helps the child to build strong immunity, cost effective, also serve as a natural population control method.
The event which featured goodwill messages from development partners, including representatives from ECEWS and WHO, had them pouring commendations on Pastor Patience Eno for promoting the health and well-being of children in the state.
Similarly, a cross section of the beneficiaries who spoke after the event, expressed their appreciation to the Governor’s wife for thinking about them even in this harsh economy and prayed God to continually uphold her and her household.
It was indeed a day of blessing and these mothers would forever be grateful to the Governor’s wife for her magnanimous disposition.
Every year promises to be bigger and better and we are already looking into the crystal ball to see what the future holds for our nursing mothers.
Bravo Eka Iberedem Akwa Ibom State!
