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NAFDAC establishes breast milk substitute committees

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has opened state multisectoral technical committees on breast milk substitutes in 32 states.

NAFDAC, in a statement signed and released on Sunday by its Resident Media Adviser, Sayo Akintola, said the inauguration of the committees was in line with the ongoing implementation of the national strategy for the implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes in Nigeria.

The Agency noted that the inauguration of the BMS State Teams is also a reflection of the Agency’s renewed efforts to implement and enforce the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes and the National BMS Regulations in Nigeria.

In September, civil society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria and FHI 360 Alive & Thrive called for the implementation of the national multi-sectoral food and nutrition action plan and the strengthening of the marketing code for breast milk substitutes in the country.

According to her, the BMS Marketing Code aims to protect breastfeeding by regulating the marketing of breast milk substitutes, which is critical to improving infant and young child feeding practices.

Speaking at the virtual inauguration of the committees, the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, charged the teams to lead efforts in their respective states to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes and the National BMS Regulations.

Adeyeye said the framework was critical to protecting and promoting breastfeeding in Nigeria, a practice that plays an important role in improving the health and well-being of children and mothers.

She further stated that breastfeeding is central to public health, fundamental to the health and development of infants and young children, supporting cognitive and psychosocial development and protecting against infectious and non-communicable diseases.

„Mothers also benefit from health benefits from breastfeeding, which include protection against breast cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, and weight regulation,“ she said, adding that breastfeeding is a dynamic, living system that is species-specific, evolutionary, and be adaptable.

“Breast milk is a tailor-made immune protection, contains hormones and other bioactives that cannot be replicated in any substitute product.”

The DG explained that the benefits of breastfeeding necessitate the need to promote and support its optimal practice.

She explained that the establishment of the BMS State Multi-Sectoral Teams is an important milestone in achieving common goals.

The Director of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Ms Eva Edwards, said: “We have physically inaugurated state BMS teams in Kaduna, Yobe, Borno, Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory.

“The virtual inaugural meeting for 32 BMS state cross-sector technical committees is a testament to our shared commitment, determination and resilience in improving our national infant and young child nutrition situation, addressing financial and logistical challenges and ensuring that “This is the case.” We reach every state regardless.”

She emphasized that the stakeholders‘ shared mission is to protect and promote optimal breastfeeding practices.

The event was attended virtually by over 300 participants from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, led by Ms. Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi, Director of Nutrition, UNICEF Nigeria Office, World Health Organization Nigeria Office, FHI360 Alive and Thrive and Save the Children, among others.

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