The Oyo State Government has appealed to corporate bodies and the private sector to key into the state government initiative of extending maternity leave to six months.

It says this is in line with international best practices on exclusive breastfeeding and to promote healthy living for working nursing mothers and their babies.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Bode Ladipo, made the appeal in a briefing to mark the 2022 World Breastfeeding Week celebration, with the theme “Step up for Breastfeeding: Educate and Support” organised by the State Primary Healthcare Board and held at the Conference Hall of the Ministry of Health, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.

Ladipo, who was represented by the Executive Secretary of the state Primary Healthcare Board, Dr Muyideen Olatunji, explained that efforts were in top gear to improve under-five nutritional status in the state by ensuring all actors support exclusive breastfeeding practices, so as to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs 1 – 6.

In line with the year 2022 theme, the commissioner stressed that the state government is set to rededicate itself to prioritising breastfeeding-friendly environment for mothers and babies, by ensuring full implementation of international code for marketing of breast milk substitutes and ensuring employers allow women the time and space they need to breastfeed, among other measures.

He said: “We need to create more awareness for the promotion of breastfeeding. The state government has extended the maternity leave for mothers to six months and if the state has done this, it only shows greater commitment. And it’s not going to be by coercion but by conviction that we have taken the lead.

“We expect every other sector in the state to adopt and adapt this policy drive by the state government so that their workers can be optimally productive. It helps to promote the health of the children and in the long run, the human development index can be said to improve,” Ladipo explained.

The World Breastfeeding Week celebration is an annual event to create awareness, promote, protect and support the process of exclusive breastfeeding practices for a period of six months, to reduce the surge in infant mortality rate.

The Nigerian Media has been advised to educate the public on the National Healthcare Insurance law. The Director General of the National Health insurance Authority, Professor Muhammed Sambo gave the advice at the agency’s Regular News Conference, in Abuja.

Professor Sambo said that “with the signing into law of the National Health Insurance Act law, which makes health insurance compulsory, it behooves the media to intensify the education of the people.”

“From the moment Mr. President put pen to paper, health insurance became mandatory. The NHIA across empowers the Authority to see to it that all Nigerians and legal residents have health insurance. This is a complete departure from the previous law that made health insurance optional.”

According to him, the NHIA Act which brings renewed prospects for the delivery of effective health insurance in Nigeria fundamentally resets the ecosystem.

Professor Sambo also noted that the Authority would co-exist with State systems and other stakeholders as the law provides that NHIA would promote, regulate and integrate through the ecosystem.

“Significantly, the law provides for the establishment of the Vulnerable Group Fund (VGF) and outlines sources of funding for it. For the record, nowhere does the law impose a telecom tax as a source of funding. This workshop will shed light on that. The nomenclature of the leadership of the agency is designated as Director General. Nominees for that office will go through the Senate confirmation process. The composition of the Governing Council has also been reviewed, from 11 to 15 member boards,” he explained.

Professor Sambo stressed that days after the passage of the law, the management of the Authority went into a 2-days retreat to fully comprehend every provision, ahead of the implementation of the Law.

He said; “Due to the importance of carrying all stakeholders along, we have held engagements with Development partners, Commissioners for Health, and Chief Executive Officers of State Social Health Insurance Agencies (SSHIAs).

“Today, it’s the turn of members of the Fourth Estate of the Realm. So Permit me to stress that this workshop is being held in recognition of the implicit capacity of the media for education and advocacy.”

Professor Sambo also said that currently, the most important work before the agency was the strategic implementation of the NHIA Act, for the benefit of Nigerians.

He said that the weeklong visit by a high-level World Health Organisation mission to the agency gives credence to the urgency with which the act is to be implemented.

“May I add that the importance of this Act is further underscored by the recent visit of a high-level mission from the WHO to the agency. When they learned of the Act they decided to send a team of health financing experts to come down and assess the country’s preparedness. At the end of their week-long visit, they were satisfied and pledged their support in relevant areas,” Professor Sambo.

He added that with the new law, the issue of delays of enrollees in hospitals and issues of Health Management Organisations would be a thing of the past.