Mothers working in the Private and Public Sectors have called on the Government to increase their maternity Leave from two to six months.
The call was voiced by various speakers during the launch of World Breastfeeding Week, held at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala on Tuesday.
Samalie Namukose, the Assistant Commissioner at the Ministry of Health, in her remarks to participants, said Breastfeeding mothers need to be given ample time to breastfeed their babies because breast milk contains all the nutrients needed for the health of the baby. She said the two months maternity leave given to mothers is too short for working mothers to fully breastfeed their babies.
“Maternity leave for working mothers should be increased from two to six paid months to enable working mothers to breastfeed their babies instead of the mothers resorting to use of manufactured baby milk, due to being required to report back to work when the babies have not completed their breastfeeding period,” she said.
She called upon participants to increase the awareness campaign on the importance of breast milk to the babies, saying ready-made baby milk should not be trusted 100 percent because research shows breast milk is the best in the healthy upbringing of children.
Ismail Kashada, a representative for the Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development, assured the working mothers that his Ministry already tabled a Bill 2022, in regard to putting in place conducive work conditions for breastfeeding mothers.
He called on all Government and Private Sector entities to put in place breastfeeding places, to enable mothers to look after and breastfeed their children during break time.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Uganda Country Representative, Munir A. Safieldin, said in Uganda, breastfeeding is deeply rooted in cultural traditions and has been the primary method of infant feeding for generations.
“However, despite these traditions, breastfeeding rates in Uganda still fall short of international recommendations,” he said.
Mr. Munir said to combat this challenge; UNICEF has been actively working with the Ugandan Government and other partners to promote breastfeeding as a vital component of infant nutrition.
“Through its programs, UNICEF focuses on developing policies and interventions that support and enable mothers to breastfeed successfully, ”he added.
Dr. Charles Ayume,the Chairman for the Parliamentary Health Committee and Member of Parliament for Koboko Municipality, represented the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Anet Among. He said extension of maternity leave to six months for working mothers will enable them to create enough room for breastfeeding.
“Stakeholders in the health sector should support breastfeeding as the only way to bring up healthy children,”he said.
He called on participants to advocate for laws that fight malnutrition in children and to work with civil society, health workers for the promotion of breastfeeding countrywide.
This year’s World Breastfeeding Week runs under the theme: “Enabling breast feeding: Making a difference for working parents”. The National Celebrations will be marked in Kakumiro District on 8 August 2023.
The meeting concluded with the award of trophies to best public and private entities in putting in place breastfeeding facilities at their Institutions. They include; National Social Security Fund (NSSF), Parliament of Uganda, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Nsambya Hospital, ATTA, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development and Unicef.
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