NAIROBI, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday called on Kenya to increase breastfeeding centers across the country.
Laura Kiige, a nutrition specialist at UNICEF Kenya, said that mothers living and working in the areas have little access to maternity leave and space to feed their children.
"Kenya should put policies in place to ensure that mothers living in informal settlements have access to breastfeeding within the areas to start timely breastfeeding to reduce infant sickness and death from infections," Kiige told journalists in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, ahead of the World Breastfeeding Week which begins on Aug. 1.
She noted that Kenya stands a chance to meet the international commitment that aims at ensuring that children breastfeed exclusively for the first six months to help reduce infections such as diarrhea and pneumonia. She suggested that all daycare centers within the informal settlements in urban centers should be equipped to address breastfeeding inequalities and promote breastfeeding as vital for child health.
World Breastfeeding Week is an annual celebration that is held every year from Aug. 1 to 7 in more than 120 countries. Kiige noted that despite the known benefits, there are still significant gaps in breastfeeding practices and promotion in Kenya during the spread of messages that confuse populations.
Purity Kibe, program manager in the Ministry of Health, said that many infants in Kenya do not start breastfeeding within the first hour of birth as is required by the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to Kibe, only 60 percent of infants are initiated to breastfeeding within an hour of delivery.
She said that the East African nation has embarked on reaching vulnerable mothers who require extra support and those who are marginalized to promote breastfeeding. She said that among the efforts towards promoting breastfeeding programs is the construction of a human milk bank in Nairobi to serve East and Central African countries.
