THE Ministry of Health is revitalising the Baby Friendly Health Initiative (BFHI) to encourage mothers to exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months.
The initiative involves training healthcare staff to help mothers breastfeed within the first hour of a baby’s birth.
Addressing journalists at Hotel Triangle on Wednesday, Tim Mateeba, a nutritionist with the health ministry, said: “54% of babies are not breastfed and this is why many are suffering from respiratory infections. We want to encourage mothers to breastfeed babies rather than giving them porridge,” Mateeba said.
The conference preceded the launch of the breastfeeding week from August 1-7. This year’s theme is Breastfeeding the baby friendly way.
The health ministry’s focus this year is to advocate the implementation of interventions that protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
According to the World Trends Initiative, Uganda is ranked 28 out of 33 countries that have successfully implemented BFHI with 2.5% of mothers breastfeeding their babies.
Meanwhile, campaigns to promote baby-friendly feeding have begun in Dokolo, Amolatar and Kamwenge districts.
