Lagos State has recorded an Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) rate of 57.4 per cent, surpassing the global target of 50 per cent, as it renewed its commitment to strengthening proven interventions that improve infant nutrition and child survival during the 2026 World Breastfeeding Week celebration.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Kemi Ogunyemi, disclosed this during a press briefing at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Alausa, noting that while the State had made remarkable progress in exclusive breastfeeding, more work was needed to improve the early initiation of breastfeeding, which currently stands at 14 per cent.
Speaking on the theme, “Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works,” Ogunyemi described breastfeeding as one of the most effective child survival strategies.
She said breast milk remains the safest, most nutritious and most affordable source of infant nutrition, adding that exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, followed by continued breastfeeding alongside appropriate complementary feeding up to two years, promotes optimal cognitive, physical and mental development while reducing infant illnesses and deaths.
“The importance of breastfeeding as a child survival strategy, especially in the first six months of life, cannot be over-emphasised. Breast milk is free, nutrient-dense, readily available and creates healthier children while promoting stronger bonding between mother and child,” she said.
Ogunyemi explained that this year’s global theme, declared by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), was particularly relevant in the current economic climate because breastfeeding provides families with a sustainable and cost-effective means of ensuring optimal infant nutrition.
She urged husbands, grandparents, employers, healthcare workers, religious and community leaders to provide the support nursing mothers need to successfully breastfeed.
She said Lagos State had strengthened Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) strategies through healthcare worker training, skilled breastfeeding counselling, enforcement of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and sustained nutrition education.
According to her, all 334 Primary Health Centres, 29 secondary health facilities and one tertiary facility in the State currently implement the MIYCN strategy with an effective referral system.
The Special Adviser, however, expressed concern over the low rate of breastfeeding within the first hour after birth, attributing it partly to misconceptions about colostrum, the first yellowish breast milk, despite its proven health benefits.
She also dismissed the belief that mothers who deliver through caesarean section cannot breastfeed immediately, stressing that breastfeeding should begin as soon as possible, ideally within the first hour of birth, regardless of the mode of delivery.
She further warned against the use of breast-milk substitutes and pre-lacteal feeds such as glucose water and herbal mixtures, describing them as harmful to infants’ physical and cognitive development.
Ogunyemi also highlighted the State Government’s support for breastfeeding-friendly policies, including six months maternity leave and two weeks paternity leave for public servants, while acknowledging the support of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, UNICEF and the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria in advancing nutrition interventions across the State.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Dayo Lajide, urged the media to sustain advocacy for breastfeeding beyond the commemorative week, noting that healthier children, stronger families and national development depend on collective action.
She said the Ministry would continue collaborating with healthcare professionals, development partners and the media to improve maternal, newborn and child health, while calling on families, employers and communities to create breastfeeding-friendly environments.
In his goodwill message, the Lagos State Coordinator of the Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria, Akinyode Samuel, commended the State’s family-friendly policies and urged governments, employers and communities to sustain investments in evidence-based nutrition programmes that give every child the healthiest possible start in life.
