The Chief Executive Officer of a non governmental organisation, known as Afribaby, Dr. Odion Oscar Odiboh, in a chat with FLORENCE UDOH, is canvassing for a six months maternity leave for women.?? He disclosed that his organisation??? has sent a?? bill??? to?? the?? National Assembly to pursue the cause?? of??? compulsory?? six months?? maternity?? leave??? for nursing?? mothers.? He also spoke on the concept of Afribaby.
What is the Afribaby concept?
The??? concept?? of? Afribaby is to create synergy, coordination, and connectivity between all organizations, institutions, companies that have one thing or the other to do with babies?? to?? put?? in? the? front?? burner issues?? that? concern? the?? welfare?? and? well-being??? of?? our?? babies. Ensure that different organizations cooperate and?? support?? themselves, ultimately, our babies will be the beneficiaries of such cooperation because we have a scenario where infant mortality and even, maternal mortality is very high?? right?? now?? in Nigeria??? and?? Nigeria is?? still very far, lagging behind,?? in?? its?? strides?? to?? achieve?? the?? MDGs??? of??? reducing?? infant?? mortality?? by?? 50 percent?? by 2015. There’s no doubt about that.
? We’re doing this because; there isn’t the right atmosphere or connectivity between different organizations doing different things for babies. We have baby-friendly hospitals where there are pediatricians who’re doing their best in their own enclave. We have orphanages that are picking up and taking care of motherless babies. You have banks that have products for newborn babies. There’re crèches that take care of babies in the absence of their mothers, particularly, daycare centers,? but?? all? these?? different?? sector??? do? not? have?? a? common?? meeting?? forum??? to?? rub? minds together?? and?? exchange?? ideas,? but??? with?? our?? AFRIBABY?? which? started?? 3?? years?? ago,?? there? is??? synergy?? now?? among? these different?? organizations?? .
? We have even non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are advocating on baby matters, we have pharmaceutical companies producing drugs for babies. So, all these organizations work separately but there’s no connection between them. They cannot even help themselves?? when?? they need help?? r?? the?? expertise??? of? ?the other. So, the idea of Afribaby is to bring them together so that they can harness fully, what each has to offer and ultimately, help our babies and humanity.
What?? mothers??? gained? at?? the?? 3?? days?? symposium
If?? you look at the concept of Afribaby, it concerns mothers, fathers, babies and our society. Part of the content of Afribaby is education and enlightenment.?? In?? this?? symposium , we???? have?? dealt? with?? matters???? that?? are?? very?? crucial???? such?? as??? issues on breastfeeding,??? career development?? for?? women?? and? how?? to? maintain?? balance??? in? the?? home? front?? while?? pursuing?? career??? and?? coping?? with?? the??? demands??? of??? motherhood. These days, we have?? majority?? of??? mothers that are also working; they’re assisting their husbands to contribute to their wellbeing.? These?? mothers?? need?? to? know?? how? to create?? a? good?? balance?? in? all? these?? so? that? no? area?? suffers?? especially?? the?? area? of?? taking? adequate?? care?? of? the? babies.
? Talking about maternity leave, the law grants only three months. But, federal Ministry of Health – the state government, the medical community, the World Health Organization (WHO),?? UNICEF?? are saying six months exclusive breastfeeding. So, how do you reconcile this? This issue?? is?? was what we?? are? trashing??? at?? this?? our?? 3rd?? symposium .? If they?? government bodies?? at Federal?? Ministry of Health?? are??? saying that mothers should have exclusive breastfeeding for six moths, they should provide enabling environment for them to be able to do so. That is,?? make??? the?? maternity leave, six months.
If they’re not able to do so, all of that is mere policy summersault. Its mere talk. So, these are the areas where mothers stand to gain. We want to encourage adequate breastfeeding?? because?? well breast-fed?? babies?? have?? a?? higher mental?? development?? and??? their?? immune??? system is very?? high?? and?? as?? such they hardly?? fail??? sick???? .
? For?? the??? fathers,??? they?? are?? very????? important??? in?? the?? home??? indeed.?? So, we use this symposium?? opportunity to drum our message about exclusive breastfeeding because you cannot have exclusive breastfeeding when the father does not support the woman –help with finances, house chores, and other things that could take away the woman’s attention from breastfeeding.
What?? is?? all?? this?? talk about?? nannies’??? training? ??
Part of the Afribaby project is to train nannies. Now, let me quickly run through the projects. First, we have the symposium, which deals with the issue as they arise.?? Then, you have nannies training. The nannies training is meant to modernize our nannies, to help them to have latest knowledge about care giving. And to help change some of the terrible things we have witnessed in the business of care giving.
? For instance, you give your baby to a caregiver, because you have to go to work; we have discovered that in some cases, some nannies, not all of them; give pill to the babies so they can sleep off. And this is very, very dangerous. When this is done again and again – and the parents are not even aware of a thing like this; what happens? After a while, the baby begins to become abnormal. And you begin to wonder, why is my baby behaving abnormally. You wouldn’t know it was as result of what has been done to that baby at the care centre, under the care of the nanny.
Again, some of these nannies or day care centres hire out these babies for alms begging. And the parents do not know. You’d be at work, thinking that everything is well or that your baby is safe. But, something can go wrong. Now, we want to sensitize nannies on these problems. We want to change this habit and ensue that care giving is given appropriately.
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In?? what?? ways??? does?? Afribaby???? hope?? to???? promotes??? Infant??? and??? even?? maternal survival? in?? Nigeria?
Unlike babies in developed countries, many babies in?? Nigeria suffer undernourishment, malnutrition, insufficiencies, inadequate attention and insecurity right from birth.
That is?? why? we?? at?? Afribaby?? advocates?? always?? that all?? hands should be on deck to reduce the rising rates of maternal and child deaths,? and?? we do this?? through?? seminars?? we?? hold?? periodically,? Radio?? Talk? shows, Television?? talk? shows,? this? Annual Symposuim/Exhibition?? ,we ??also?? have?? a? health? magazine?? we?? publish?? quarterly? that is?? focusing??? on??? guidelines? for?? taking?? adequate?? care??? of? our?? babies? .
Fears have been expressed? by? health? analysts?? that Nigeria may not meet the MDG targets even as recent UN reports ,?? that?? the nation has only achieved??? only??? 32 per cent reduction? of?? infant?? mortality??? less???? than??? five years to 2015.?
? Developed countries are working hard to ensure babies live to adulthood and I want to believe that we can do better in??? Nigeria??? and??? eventually?? Africa?? as??? a?? continent??? . We must put a stop to infant mortality now.
? The Afribaby concept is a new approach and first of its kind to address problems of child care in Nigeria and Africa at large.?? We? chose?? that? name?? AFIBABY??? meaning?? African???? Babies??? because? in?? a? few??? years? time,? we? intend?? to? carry?? our? campaign??? of???? infant??? survival?? and?? well-being??? to?? all?? over?? AFRICA? as?? a? Continent.? There is urgent??? need for policy change? in??? Nigeria?? here?? and?? other?? developing? African?? nations?? concerning?? infant??? survival? and well-being.
? We???? emphasize?? exclusive?? breast feeding?? a lot??? because???? even?? WHO?? has proven?? with?? scientific??? research???? that??? it???? increases bonding between a mother and the child and stabilises a baby psychologically.???? If we do not??? treat??? all? our?? babies? right??? at??? infancy?? , it is the nation that will pay for it?? in??? the?? future??? through?? the cost of catering for a group of dysfunctional adults.
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