The Federation of Medical Students Standing Committee of Population Activities (FAMSA-SCOPA), University of Ibadan Medical Students’ Association (UIMSA) chapter, organized a campaign to celebrate the World Breastfeeding Week, on Thursday, August 2nd, 2024 at the University of Ibadan Main Gate and the outskirts of Agbowo.
The celebration, which is an initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) holds every first week of August, with the aim to promote breastfeeding worldwide. This year’s theme highlights the challenges hindering adequate breastfeeding, such as work-related barriers for breastfeeding mothers, excessive use of breast milk substitutes, and premature weaning of infants.
The campaign, which took place between 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM, involved the public display of banners with the theme of this year’s World Breastfeeding Week, “Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding for All”, after which the team of five went about sensitizing mothers about the importance of breastfeeding their babies.
Miss Olatunji Zion, the Laison Officer of FAMSA-SCOPA, led the team to sensitize mothers in the locale about the importance of breastfeeding, in Yoruba. “We are celebrating the World Breastfeeding Week and we want to encourage you to exclusively breastfeed your baby for the first six months because it helps them grow healthy“, she said.
Mothers shared their thoughts on the health benefits of breastfeeding for their children’s growth and brain development. However, they expressed concerns about work-related barriers and financial constraints that hindered them from breastfeeding adequately. The FAMSA-SCOPA team, in response, acknowledged this and urged the mothers to create more time for breastfeeding and to prioritize a healthy diet.
Ugor Benedict
