MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) yesterday urged mothers to fully breastfeed their children for six months after birth to ensure their protection against diseases and to boost their mental and physical development.
“Breastfeeding is directly linked to reducing death toll of children under five,” Unicef said in a statement.
Only 34 percent of Filipino mothers breastfeed their children exclusively for first six months after birth, and the number drops to two percent at one year.
Unicef noted that one of the factors for this is the “lack of a strong enabling environment that supports breastfeeding mothers.”
“With so much at stake, we need to do more to reach women with a simple, powerful message: Breastfeeding can save your baby’s life,” said Unicef executive director Anthony Lake.
Lake added that “no other preventive intervention is more cost effective in reducing the number of children who die before reaching their fifth birthdays.”
The call was made in line with the global celebration of World Breastfeeding Week.
Unicef has urged global partners “to call for the benefits of breastfeeding to be broadcast beyond clinics and delivery rooms to the public at large, ensuring that young people, both in the developing world and in wealthier countries, understand the importance of breastfeeding long before they become parents.” –Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star)
March –
IT’S WOMEN’S MONTH!
“Respect and support women
every day of the year/s!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the recommendations of the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry
against serious violations of protocols of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association.
Accept the National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands
#Report Corruption #SearchPosts #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
Women’s Role in History Month
Weekly Observances:
Week 1: Environmental Week;
Women’s Week
Week 3: Philippine Industry and “
Made-in-the-Philippines Products Week
Last Week: Protection and Gender-Fair Treatment
of the Girl Child Week
Daily Observances:
March 8: Women’s Rights and
International Peace Day;
National Women’s Day
March 4: Employee Appreciation Day
March 15: World Consumer Rights Day
March 18: Global Recycling Day
March 21: International Day for the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination
March 23: International Day for the Right to the Truth
Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations
and for the Dignity of Victims
March 25: International Day of Remembrance of the
Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
March 27: Earth Hour
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