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Community Working Group on Health (CWGH)
As the world celebrates World Breastfeeding Week, the Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) would like to urge families and communities to offer maximum support to breastfeeding mothers around the country, particularly in the context of the current drought that has led to serious food shortages.
Running under the theme, “Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding for All”, this year’s World Breastfeeding Week runs from 1-7 August.
The call for community and family support comes at a time when Zimbabwe is facing serious food shortages, affecting both rural and urban dwellers. The food crisis has negative implications for both the children and mothers, who might not have enough milk, might not afford enough nutritious food or would be too busy to breastfeed as they would be looking for food and water.
The government says 7.7 million people require urgent food assistance in the country. Already food relief is underway with grain importation and a school feeding programme. This should not end with feeding school children but also vulnerable breastfeeding mothers.
Nutrition emergency interventions should ensure lactating mothers have access to food to ensure optimal breastfeeding and prevent malnourished children. Remember malnourished infants and young children are mostly found in environments where food is problematic. It is depressing to note that 23.5% of children in the country are chronically malnourished and do not grow or develop to their full potential highlighting the greatest need for intervention.
It should be noted that families in difficult situations require special attention and practice to enable them to feed their children appropriately and adequately. In such cases, the likelihood of not feeding increases and so does the possibility of artificial feeding or inappropriate complementary feeding. It is in this context that CWGH also urges the government to prioritize breastfeeding mothers during the ongoing national food distribution exercise. In areas where the traditional Zunde RaMambo concept is operational, it is also the right time to channel food and other resources to needy breastfeeding mothers in rural areas.
CWGH would also like to urge the government to adequately equip community health workers (CHWs) with resources and tools so they can support breastfeeding literacy, information and awareness campaigns at the community level as they are the trusted cadres at the community level and have a direct interface with the local people.
A joint study by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, urges nations to adopt community-centred networks to ensure support for mothers and their infants. This could take the form of mother-mother support groups, peer or counsellors to which health centres can refer mothers on discharge.
“Virtually all mothers can breastfeed provided they have accurate information and support within their families and communities and from the health care system,” notes the strategy. “They should have access to skilled practical help, for example, trained health workers lay and peer counsellors … who can help to build mother’s confidence, improve feeding technique and prevent or resolve feeding problems.”
Exclusive breastfeeding is a sure way of providing the ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process, with important health benefits for mothers. Breast milk is the natural first food for infants, providing all the energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life.
Support is more needed for those mothers living with HIV. WHO recommends that all mothers living with HIV/AIDS receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) to support their health and to ensure the well-being of their infants. They are also recommended to breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months, and then add complementary feeding until one year. Breastfeeding with complementary feeding may continue until 24 months of age or beyond.
Noting the importance of breastfeeding, the CWGH would like to call upon the government to renew its commitment to protecting and promoting the optimal feeding of infants and young children, for children are the future.
The Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) is a network of national membership-based civil society and community-based organizations that aim to collectively enhance community participation in health in Zimbabwe.