Only 20 pct of babies breastfed in Botswana: official

GABORONE, Aug. 2 — Only 20 percent of babies are exclusively breastfed in Botswana, Minister of Health Edwin Dikoloti has said, encouraging communities to step up breastfeeding support for parents.
The minister made the remarks on Tuesday on the occasion of the launch of the commemoration of World Breastfeeding Week at Tutume village, 550 km northeast of Gaborone, the capital of Botswana.
“Evidence shows that in our country, about 65 percent of babies are initiated at the breast, but only 20 percent are exclusively breastfed,” said Dikoloti, adding that many babies are introduced to either solids or other fluids at a very tender age, which exposes them to infections.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that babies be breastfed for two years and beyond, with the introduction of complementary foods at six months of age.
This means that a baby who is below six months old should be given breast milk only and nothing else, not even water, unless it is medically advised, said Dikoloti.
Dikoloti said many medical studies have persistently shown that continued breastfeeding safeguards the health and nutrition status of young children as they grow.
According to the minister, the evidence thus far presented shows that supporting and protecting the breastfeeding practice will, in fact, be making a huge contribution to the southern African country’s health system.
“When few people get sick, it means that we can spend less on medical care. In the end, this can have a positive impact on households and the nation’s economy,” said Dikoloti.
According to the minister, Botswana has implemented ten steps to provide friendly environments for nursing mothers to initiate breastfeeding and reduce barriers to promoting breastfeeding.
This year’s commemoration is celebrated under the theme “Enable breastfeeding; making a difference for working mothers.”
World Breastfeeding Week is observed during the first week of August every year. The week-long event tries to create awareness about the importance of breastfeeding for proper development of newborns.
Xinhua