Mothers need to exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months and employers should create a conducive environment for new mothers if they are to get healthy children.

Dr Anicet Nzabonimpa, the head of maternal child and community health division at Rwanda Biomedical Centre, made the remarks while opening the National Breastfeeding Week in Rutare Sector, Gicumbi District on Tuesday.

The week-long campaign that ends on August 28, aims to raise awareness on the benefits of breastfeeding, both for the child and the mother.

Urging breastfeeding in the workplace Nzabonimpa, who represented the Minister for Health at the ceremony, said that it would improve productivity.

"Employers need to understand the value of breastfeeding in the workplace. We believe that a mother can work more effectively when she has a room in the workplace where she can breastfeed her child instead of wasting time going back home to breastfeed,” he noted.

The district mayor, Alexandre Mvuyekure, said they had put in place initiatives to ensure both maternal and child health.

"Under the ‘1000 Days to a Healthy Rwanda’ campaign, which seeks to reduce levels of stunting among children under the age of five due to malnutrition, our district devised strategic measures to create awareness among parents,” he said.

"We introduced the ‘house-to-house’ programme that has been helping parents to understand how to treat their children during their first critical days so that they can grow healthier. Parents are taught about good hygiene, specifically hand washing using soap and clean water, exclusive breastfeeding of up to six months and taking a balanced diet during pregnancy,” the mayor explained.

Ester Musabyimana, a 27-year-old mother from Muko Sector, said her community had adopted good breastfeeding and balanced diet practices.

"It used to be difficult for us because we didn’t exactly know how to treat our babies during the first days of birth. However, community health counsellors have taught us how to feed our children and breastfeed them during the first six months. I now know what to do with a baby so that it doesn’t become stunted,” she noted.

During the event, 10 sectors were awarded for improving healthcare services in Gicumbi.

The event was organised in partnership with UNICEF, World Vision, CARITAS, the Kingdom of Netherlands, among other partners, under the theme "Breastfeeding and balanced diet is essential to the better health of the baby”.

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WHO facts on breastfeeding

If every child was breastfed within an hour of birth, given only breast milk for their first six months of life, and continued breastfeeding up to the age of two years, about 800,000 child lives would be saved every year.

Globally, less than 40% of infants under six months of age are exclusively breastfed.

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