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The Wife of the Governor of Enugu State, Nkechinyere Mbah has reiterated the need for exclusive breastfeeding of children to ensure their healthy growth.
She made the case yesterday when she visited the maternity ward of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Teaching Hospital, Park Lane, Enugu to mark the World Breastfeeding Week.
During her visit, she generously gifted cash to nursing mothers and paid off outstanding medical bills for those who couldn’t afford to settle them at the hospital.
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Mrs. Mbah stated that the current administration of Governor Peter Mbah remains committed to reforming the health sector to make it more qualitative and affordable, adding that the governor had equally taken particular note of the need to improve the quality of maternal, infant and child healthcare in the state.
‘Exclusive and extended breastfeeding is not easy, but it is something you have to do,’ She said, referring to the women at the hospital. ‘Babies deserve it because it boosts their immune system,’.
Speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Enugu State Ministry of Health, Ifeanyi Agujiobi said that the emphasis during the breastfeeding week is exclusive breastfeeding to make sure that women that have just delivered implement the policy so that the immune systems of the babies will be well built and those new infants will be free from neonatal diseases and infection.
‘Presently, nursing mothers are entitled to four months maternity leave, but we are currently working through the office of the Head of Service to see if that could be increased to six months of fully paid maternity leave,’ he explained.
