Aweil North celebrates World Breastfeeding Day

By Hou Akot Hou

Officials in Northern Bahr El Ghazal on Saturday celebrated World Breast Feeding Day in Aweil North County to create awareness on the importance of breastfeeding of the newly born babies.

“We want to enlighten the communities about the importance of breastfeeding the newly born children for six months. This is because digestive system of the child is still weak and causes them illness if they eat other foods apart from the mother’s milk,” Philip Marach, a medical officer based in Aweil North County told Juba Echo.

Humanitarian organizations such as Concern International, including officials from the State Ministry of health marched to the county’s headquarter, Gokmachar to commemorate the day.

Marach said more than one hundred people were able to listen to the speeches from the experts.

 “Most of the local community who attended the celebration were happy to embrace breast feeding and vowed to ditch cultural norms that are against breast feeding. They heeded to the call to breastfeed children till six months period comes to an end,” he said.

Abuk Garang, a health worker in Aweil North County called on state health officials to disseminate information on breast feeding to the grassroots level.

“Other women do give cow milk to their babies even before a week ends after birth. This is something that we want to caution mothers about,” she said.

World Breast Feeding Day is commemorated annually on 2nd August.

Mothers in most parts of rural areas in the country often rely on cultural practices of childcare which pose health risks.