Cameroon’s Minister of Public Health, Manaouda Malachie, launched World Breastfeeding Week on July 27, 2023, by thanking his own mother for breastfeeding him for six years.
Dr. Malachie went on to say that breastfeeding is not only good for babies’ health, but it is also good for mothers’ health. He urged all mothers to breastfeed their babies for at least six months and to continue breastfeeding for as long as possible.
“On 07/27/2023, I launched the breastfeeding week. This is an important moment when we pay tribute to the mothers who exclusively breastfeed their babies. Thank you to all our mothers, thank you to my dear mother who breastfed me for 6 years for my good health,”
“Breastfeeding is a natural way to feed your baby, and it is the best way to ensure that your baby gets the nutrients they need,” Malachie said. “It is also good for your own health. Breastfeeding can help you lose weight after pregnancy, and it can protect you from some diseases.”
World Breastfeeding Week is an annual event that is held to raise awareness about the importance of breastfeeding. This year’s theme is “Enabling Breastfeeding: Making a Difference for Working Parents” and will be celebrated from August 1st to August 7th, 2023.
Malachie urged all Cameroonians to support breastfeeding. “We need to intensify efforts to educate, support, promote, and encourage efforts that favor exclusive breastfeeding so that mums can practice breastfeeding in an optimum way by immediate latching within the first hour, exclusively breastfeeding till 6 months, and providing adequate complementary feeding coupled with the continuation of breastfeeding up till two years or more,” he said.
Hundreds of nursing mums turned out for the launch of the 31st World Breastfeeding Week.
Midwives, doctors, nurses, and fathers also turned out to support nursing mothers as they make a case for working conditions that favor for exclusive breastfeeding.
