Accra, Aug. 3, GNA - It is estimated that the lives of one million infants worldwide could be saved if mothers would endeavour to initiate breastfeeding within an hour after birth as the first breast milk (colostrums) contained all the needed nutrients for the infant's development.

In addition, it is estimated that infants between one and six months not exclusively breastfed have seven times the risk of dying from diarrhoea and five times the risk of dying from pneumonia, compared to those exclusively fed on breast milk for six months. Dr Iyabode Olusanmi, Country Representative, UNICEF, launching the 2011 World Breastfeeding Day in Accra on Wednesday, commended Ghana for the progress made on the importance of breastfeeding in the country.

She said World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF recommended exclusive breastfeeding because there was scientific evidence indicating that infants were adequately fed and protected from the major childhood killer diseases like diarrhoea and pneumonia. Dr Olusanmi noted that currently, about five out of 10 nursing mothers breastfed their children within the first hour of birth and six out of 10 exclusively breastfed their children for the first six months.

"However, more needs to be done to make further gains and improve our children's likelihood of survival as part of the efforts to achieve Millennium Development Goal Four (MDG 4) which talks about the elimination of Child and Infants Mortality," she added. She urged nursing mothers to observe exclusive breastfeeding because it would assist their uterus to return quickly to normalcy and reduced the risk of bleeding after delivery.

Dr Olusanmi called on husbands and family members to support nursing mothers to observe exclusive breastfeeding by taking care of the house chores and other activities that might take the nursing mothers' time.

Dr Gloria Quansah Asare, Director, Family Health Division, Ghana Health Services, mentioned the adoption of baby friendly hospital initiative for hospitals in the country, training programmes in lactation management for all 10 Regional and Teaching Hospitals as some of the interventions initiated for the promotion of breastfeeding in the country.

"Others are the celebration of World Breastfeeding Week annually, and the development of breastfeeding policies and strategies for the hospitals," she added.

Dr Asare noted that exclusive breastfeeding rate had jumped from two per cent in 1988 to 63 per cent in 2008 making Ghana second highest country in the West African Sub-Region where breastfeeding was observed.

Hajia Hawawu Boya Gariba, Deputy Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, urged nursing mothers to breastfeed their babies in order to complement government's effort of reducing infant mortality rate in the country.

Mrs Josephine Cofie, Chairperson of Ghana Infant Nutrition Action Network (GINAN), an NGO, which organised the programme, expressed appreciation to MOWAC for its assistance in celebrating the World Breastfeeding Week. Some activities earmarked for the week-long celebration include talks on the importance of breastfeeding and appropriate ways to breastfeed.