Yendi (N/R), April 29, GNA - Dr. Sylvester Anemana, Northern Regional Director of Health Services, told a gathering of 500 mothers, nurses, students and Red Cross personnel on Friday that poor breastfeeding practices are the cause of high infant morbidity and mortality.

Dr. Anemana, who was launching this year's breastfeeding campaign in the Region at Yendi, noted that some of the harmful infant feeding practices in the Region include giving herbal concoctions and even pito to babies.

He stressed that breastfeeding is important for child survival and development, and called for increased knowledge and skills for health workers to enable them to support mothers to breastfeed their babies appropriately. He said the Ministry of Health decided to participate in the global baby-friendly hospital initiative started in 1991 because of poor breastfeeding in Ghana.

The District Chief Executive, Alhaji Mohammed Alhassan, called on mothers to adopt the practice of exclusive breastfeeding. He charged chiefs, assembly members, unit committees, health workers and the media to intensify the campaign to disabuse the minds of people that exclusive breastfeeding is not good.

Dr. John Abenyeri, District Director of Health Services, said only six per cent of women practise exclusive breastfeeding in the District, adding that one main problem of the area is the high infant mortality rate of 70 per every 1,000 life births.

He said efforts to promote exclusive breastfeeding in the area had been thwarted by frequent transfers of trained health staff.