Inadequate breastfeeding kills 8 200 children annually

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has said 8 200 infants die annually in Malawi due to inadequate breastfeeding as only 61 percent of babies are exclusively breastfed during the first six months of their lives.

Making a presentation during a media orientation workshop ahead of the World Breastfeeding Week on Friday at Game Haven Lodge in Thyolo, Blantyre district health office (DHO) nutritionist Jane Mwamlima said optimal breastfeeding protects against diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections (ARI).

For instance, Mwamlima said five percent of infections in infants under five years old are mostly ARI cases whereas 15 percent of infections in such infants are mostly diarrhoea cases which are preventable through adequate breastfeeding.

In his remarks, MoH deputy director for clinical services responsible for nutrition, Janet Guta, said the ministry promotes, supports and protects breastfeeding as the natural and best way of feeding infants and children.

“As we all know, breast milk contains all the nutrients a baby needs to grow from the time they are born up to six months. In the first six months of a baby’s life, breast milk is enough [as it] provides all the nutrients that babies require to grow.

“After six months, we need our babies to continue being breastfed up to two years or beyond, but with appropriate complementary foods. Apart from causing deaths and morbidity, inadequate breastfeeding also has got financial implications to the country, community and the home in particular,” she said.

Malawi will from tomorrow August 1 to August 7 join the rest of the world in commemorating the World Breastfeeding Week.

Minister of Health Atupele Muluzi is expected to launch the commemoration tomorrow in Balaka. n