Exclusive breastfeeding prevents 10 million cases of childhood diarrhea – UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, Bauchi Field Office, has said that exclusive breastfeeding prevented 10 million cases of childhood diarrhoea in Nigeria.

Mrs Philomena Irene, UNICEF’s Nutrition Specialist, Bauchi Field Office, disclosed this in Azare, the headquarters of Katagum LGA while presenting a paper in commemoration of the 2023 World Breastfeeding Week.

The theme of her paper is; Let’s talk breast milk: the life-preserving super food for Babies; Trends in Breastfeeding in Bauchi Field Office states.

Speaking more on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, the Nutrition Specialist also revealed that 103,742 children’s lives are saved each year through exercise.

“Exclusive breastfeeding saves families formula cost of N13.832 billion in a year as it also prevents the loss of N3.3 trillion a year in cognitive losses.

“It adds N54.6 billion to Nigeria’s economy each year as a result of increased productivity.

“It also helps prepare Nigeria’s children for a prosperous future as a result of higher intelligence which translates to improved performance in school and increased long-term earning potential,” she said.

According to her, breastfed children had at least 6 times greater chance of survival in the early months than non-breastfed children.

She added that an exclusively breastfed child is 14 times less likely to die in the first six months than a non-exclusively breastfed child.

“An estimated 13% of child deaths could be averted if 90% of mothers exclusively breastfed their infants for the first six months of life.

“Delaying breastfeeding by 3-23 hours after birth increases the risk of a baby dying in the first 28 days of a baby’s life by 40 per cent,” she explained.

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