For working mothers who are civil servants, the Borno state government has promised to implement a six-month maternity leave policy.
This was said on Friday, August 4, during the 2023 World Breastfeeding Week in Maiduguri, the state capital, by Dr. Mohammed Ghuluze, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Human Services.
According to Ghuluze, the government is stepping up efforts to increase the current 40 percent exclusive breastfeeding rate to the 50 percent target set by the World Health Assembly.
According to him, the purpose of the initiative is to “encourage action across multiple sectors, including the private sector, on how to improve current breastfeeding facilities, build new ones where none already exist, and consider the possibility of enacting legislation that would support policies that support breastfeeding-friendly workplaces.”
For his part, Maina Mustapha Garba, chairman of the Borno State House of Assembly Committee on Health, explained that the state government currently offers working mothers a four-month maternity leave, with plans to eventually increase it to six months.
Renowned health expert Garba urged more action from key players in order to raise awareness of the state’s need for six-month maternity leaves and conducive workplaces for nursing mothers.
