Unicef representative to Tanzania Maniza Zaman
talks at the Breakfast meeting to share new evidence the lancet series
showing health and Economic benefits of breastfeeding held in Dar es
Salaam yesterday.
UNICEF’s Representative in Tanzania, Maniza Zaman told reporters in
Dar es Salaam yesterday that over the years there has been progress in
reducing child deaths and under nutrition in Tanzania.
Zaman also said that still 270 children under five die every day
and nearly 40 per cent of them die within the first month of life of the
children who survive, one in three children are stunted because of
chronic malnutrition.
“These children are losing out on their life chances. Poor
nutritional status affects a child’s learning ability and also his or
her earning potential as an adult. But there are known interventions
that can make a huge difference and promotion of breastfeeding is a
critical one,” the UNICEF’s representative said.
She added: “The Lancet Series provides compelling evidence on the
wide-ranging benefits of breastfeeding. Investments in protecting;
promoting and supporting breastfeeding could save children’s lives in
Tanzania and, in the long run, support economic growth.”
She went further saying that the Lancet papers show that there are
many health benefits to breastfeeding. “Increased breastfeeding can
prevent nearly half of diarrhea episodes and a third of respiratory
infections – the two leading causes of death among children under the
age of five,” she said.
She noted: “Breastfeeding is the most natural, cost effective,
environmentally sound and readily available way we know to provide all
children, rich or poor, with the healthiest start in life”.
“The science is clear – lets come together to support many more
women and families in Tanzania provide this best start to life for their
children,” she observed.
Furthermore, breastfed children typically need fewer hospital
visits or prescriptions, have a lower risk of infections and diseases,
are less likely to be overweight and less prone to diabetes later in
life.
There are key health benefits for the mother too. Each year a
mother breastfeeds, her risk of developing invasive breast cancer is
reduced by 6 per cent.
Current breastfeeding rates already prevent almost 20,000 deaths
from breast cancer each year globally – this number can be higher with
improved breastfeeding practices. Longer breastfeeding is also linked to
a reduction in ovarian cancer.
Increasing breastfeeding rates has economic returns. Children who
are breastfed do better in intelligence tests. Globally, the
consequences and costs of lower cognitive ability associated with not
breastfeeding amount to about US$300 billion annually.
Low-and middle-income countries lose more than US$70 billion
annually. High-income countries lose more than US$230 billion annually.
In Tanzania, 42 per cent of children are exclusively breastfed for
the recommended six months and only half the newborns are put to the
breast within one hour of birth when newborns can most benefit from the
immune factors in breast milk.
While continued breastfeeding till 24 months and beyond, together
with feeding the child other appropriate foods, provides the optimal
nutrition for the growing child, about half of the children between
20-23 months are no longer breastfed. This means that many children are
growing up poorly nourished.
However there are regions in the country which show very
encouraging trends. For example, 75 per cent of children are breastfed
within the first hour after birth in Kilimanjaro, Tanga and Iringa
regions.
More than half of children aged between 0-5 months are exclusively
breastfed in Iringa, Kigoma, Morogoro, Singida, Katavi and Geita
regions, with the highest prevalence in Kagera (70 per cent).
To make a nationwide effort to improve breast-feeding practices,
common obstacles faced by women worldwide need to also be tackled in
Tanzania.
EmoticonEmoticon