UNICEF, Stakeholders Canvass For Paternity Leave

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), media practitioners and other stakeholders in nutrition have tasked government at all levels and chief executives of private companies to introduce paternity leave and six months maternity leave for effective compliance of six months exclusive breast- feeding.

This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a two-day media dialogue on child malnutrition organised by UNICEF in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture for media practitioners, nutritionists and other stakeholders in Nigeria, held in, Owerri, Imo State, with the theme: “Good nutrition- An investment for the future.”

According to the participants, the paternity leave would enable  men render efficient assistance to their nursing wives and take care of their other siblings.

They stated that nursing mothers needed to be encouraged to breastfeed their babies exclusively for the first six months of life adding that the federal government and the private sector should emulate the Enugu State government which has already introduced paternity leave for men.

The participants lamented some startling discoveries made on the threat posed by severe child malnutrition in the country, especially  in Imo State and called on the state government to improve nutrition and avert the avoidable deaths and irreversible consequences of acute child malnutrition ravaging the state.

While on a field trip to the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Imo State, they were alarmed by the high level of malnourished children in the hospital and called on government to ensure the availability of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs) in every state for interrventions in cases of emergency.

In the communiqué issued at the end of the two-day meeting, they noted that “child malnutrition is on the rise in Nigeria despite concerted efforts by government, UNICEF and other development partners to combat it.”