NEWS
Breastfeeding Week: Borno First Lady Seeks 6 Months Maternity Leave
The Borno First Lady, Dr Falmata Zulum, has called for implementation of six months maternity leave for nursing mothers by the Government to encourafe the practice of exclusive breastfeeding.
Zulum made the call on Thursday in Maiduguri while flagging-off the 2024 World Breastfeeding Week.
Zulum, who was represented by the Commissioner of Women Affairs, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo, said the week constituted a clarion call to collective action and collaborative efforts to precipitate transformative change.
She advocated for the establishing of a comprehensive support framework comprising breastfeeding-friendly healthcare facilities, supportive communities, and accommodating workplaces.
“I fully support working mothers having six months maternity leave to practice exclusive breastfeeding.
“The theme ‘Closing the Gap, Breastfeeding Support for All’ highlights the imperative of inclusivity and universality in our pursuit of a breastfeeding -conducive environment, accessible to all individuals.
“In alignment with the policy recommendation by the WHO-UNICEF-led Global Breastfeeding Collective, we issue a formal appeal for enhanced investments in comprehensive breastfeeding initiatives, improved breastfeeding counseling and support for women within healthcare facilities and community contexts,” Zulum said.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Baba Malum-Gana, said series of activities have been lined up for the week such as interactive media sessions, lectures, advocacy visits to elevate public awareness and consciousness.
In his goodwill message, the Chief of UNICEF Borno Field Office, Dr Tushar Rane, raised concern over the dwindling position of Borno in achieving the global target.
He called for the cessation of promotional activities for breast-milk substitutes and the need to optimize integrated routine immunization activities and empowering parents to make informed decisions regarding the optimal nutrition for their infants.
Also presenting the message of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the State Coordinator of WHO, Dr Ibrahim Salisu reiterated commitment of WHO and other stakeholders in supporting Borno in promoting exclusive breastfeeding.
Salisu said breastfeeding remained the foundation for a lifelong health and wellbeing as well as a simple, cost effective, and natural way to provide infants with the nutrients needed for healthy growth and development.
He noted that the key gaps in breastfeeding support include insufficient maternity leave policies, lack of workplace support and inadequate access to breastfeeding education and services in rural areas. (NAN)
NEWS
Customs Intercept Contraband Worth N510.92m in Two Conths
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit Zone C, says it intercepted contrabands with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N510.92 million between July 15th and September 15th, 2024.The zone covers the six states in the South-South geopolitical zone and the five states in the Southeast geopolitical zone.
This is contained in a statement signed by Jerry Attah, Public Relations Officer, NCS, Zone C, and made available to journalists on Wednesday. According to the statement, Comptroller Michael Ugbagu, NCS, Zone C, gave the statistics while showcasing the seized contraband to relevant regulatory agencies at the Government Warehouse in Edo.Ugbagu said that the zone also recovered the sum of N25.57 million from demand notices raised based on some infractions noticed, making a cumulative sum of N536.49 million recorded within the months under review.“The DPV was derived from our seized goods, which include 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without an NAFDAC number.“1,015 sacks of dry donkey meat and skin, 75 jumbo bales of second-hand clothing, 463 cartons of foreign spaghetti, 269 pieces of used pneumatic tires, and 56 cartons of smuggled foreign tomato paste.“More worrisome is the interception of 49,699 sachets of various brands of tramadol and 3,350 bottles of various cough syrups with codeine without NAFDAC registration numbers.”He noted that the cough syrup with codeine and tramadol without NAFDAC registration numbers, if not intercepted, could have had adverse effects on youths.He added that the items were mostly intercepted along the Ewu-Okada/Benin expressways based on credible intelligence. (NAN)NEWS
APC Forum Decries Deplorable Condition of Federal Roads
The Forum of Stakeholders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has decried the deplorable condition of some federal roads in Nigeria. Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the North-Central Chairman of the forum, said this in an interaction with newsmen on Wednesday in Jos. Zazzaga described some of the federal roads as ”death traps”, particularly those within the north-central region.
He said that some of the deplorable roads in the region include Jos-Akwanga, Makurdi-Oturkpo-Otukpa, Makurdi-Ankpa, and Jos-Saminaka. Other roads that needed urgent attention, he said, included Suleja-Minna, Ejule-Otukpa, Ganawuri-Manchok, Lokoja-Abuja, Lapai-Agaie-Bida, Birnin-Gwari-Bokani-Mokwa, Minna-Zungeru-Tegina-Kontagora. ”Currently, the north-central region has the most deplorable roads and highways in the country. ”These deplorable roads have brought severe hardship on the people and lost lives and property through preventable road traffic crashes. ”We call on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and ensure the rehabilitation of these roads because good roads are vital enablers of development,” he said. The chairman also called on governors of states within the region to reconstruct the dilapidated roads and seek refunds from the federal government. ”Though these are largely federal roads, they are located within states, and the beneficiaries are the people of these states. ”So we call on state governments to reconstruct these roads and seek refunds from the federal government,” he added. (NANNEWS
Yuan Strengthens 7. 087 Against Dollar
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 160 pips to 7.087 against the dollar on Wednesday.This is according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.In China’s spot foreigners exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day.
The central parity rate of the yuan against the dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day. (Xinhua/NAN)