In a bid to promote child nutrition, Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have proposed to implement six months of maternity leave for nursing mothers in their respective states.
This was contained in a communique issued at the end of a virtual meeting of Secretaries to State Governments of APC-controlled states held under the auspices of the Progressive Governors’ Forum PGF.
In the communique signed by Alhaji Adamu Fanini and Prof. Danladi Atu, SSGs of Jigawa and Plateau states respectively, participants said the 6 months leave was agreed upon given the importance of exclusive breastfeeding to the growth and general health of a child.
The meeting observed that there is no institutional framework for the implementation of programmes on food and nutrition in some states.
It as agreed that APC controlled states should set up State Committees on Food and Nutrition to relate with all FG programmes on Food and Nutrition and coordinate PGF’s implementation framework on child Nutrition.
Everyevery.ng gathered that the virtual meeting was targeted at identifying salient and common initiatives of Maternal and Child Nutrition that can be replicated across all the APC-controlled States.
Also, at the meeting, participants highlighted the importance of information and how it affects the attitudes of citizens towards issues of nutrition.
It, therefore, urged APC-controlled states to design a special communication strategy to raise public awareness on malnutrition and its consequences.
