The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, has advocated for a six months maternity leave for working class mothers to encourage breastfeeding for babies in Nigeria.
The Health Minister made the proposal at a forum in Abuja where both international donor agencies and commissioners of health dialogued on how to promote breastfeeding in the country.
It was a high level policy meeting with government officials and international donor agencies.
According to the Minister, women who refuse to breastfeed their infants exclusively do not only have higher risk of cancer, but also expose them to diseases.
Some statistics presented at this event reveal that only 20% of women in Nigeria practice exclusive breastfeeding.
The representative of the World Health Organization, Mr Nigel Rollins, said that only 37% of mothers around the globe practice exclusive breastfeeding.
He said that Nigeria had become a driver of growing breast milk substitute industries to the detriment of their children.
Other experts identified the benefits of breastfeeding practice to both the infant and the mother.
