By Khalid Idris Doya
The Wife of the Bauchi State Governor, Hajiya Aisha Bala Mohammed, has called on families, communities and other stakeholders to support breastfeeding practices as a means of improving child health and reducing infant mortality across the state.
She made the call on Tuesday while flagging off the 2026 World Breastfeeding Week at the Urban Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC), Kofar Ran, Bauchi. The event was held with the theme: "Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: What Works."
Aisha Mohammed said maternal, child health and nutrition remain key priorities of the administration of Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, stressing that the government has consistently demonstrated commitment to the wellbeing of children under five, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
According to her, the state government has implemented several innovative programmes and interventions aimed at improving public health and reducing the burden of malnutrition.
She announced that Governor Bala Mohammed has approved the extension of maternity leave for female civil servants in Bauchi State from four months to six months to encourage exclusive breastfeeding, strengthen mother-child bonding and ease the economic burden on nursing mothers.
Represented by Wife of the Deputy Governor, Hajiya Asma'u Auwal Jatau, A'isha said, "The Bauchi State Government has continued to invest in nutrition programmes with the support of development partners to prevent and treat moderate and severe acute malnutrition. The present administration has also approved a N500 million Child Nutrition Fund as a matching grant to strengthen nutrition interventions across the state."
The First Lady further noted that the government has created an enabling environment for development partners, including UNICEF, Helen Keller International, Nutrition International, CARE International and other organisations, to support the delivery of quality healthcare and nutrition services.
She explained that the administration is committed to ensuring that every ward in the state has a functional Primary Healthcare Centre to improve access to quality healthcare and nutrition services for residents.
She reaffirmed the government's commitment to working closely with stakeholders and development partners to sustain investments in the health sector and improve the wellbeing of the people.
Aisha also urged mothers to exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months of life, introduce appropriate complementary feeding from six months while continuing breastfeeding, describing the practice as essential for healthy growth, proper development and improved child survival.
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