Today, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa in partnership with the Kaduna State Government, Alive & Thrive FHI360, Save the Children International and other nutrition stakeholders, launched the first ever multimedia campaign to improve infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices in the state. The campaign was formally launched by Her Excellency, the wife of the Governor of Kaduna state and the Chairperson of Kaduna State Emergency Nutrition Action Plan (KADENAP), Hajia Aisha Ummi Garba El-Rufai.

This launch was preceded by a one-day media roundtable towards improving IYCF in the state, where personnel from various platforms got the chance to learn about the current state of nutrition in Kaduna State and discussed what the government and partners were doing to improve the indices.

H.E. Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, WBFA Founder-President, commented: “As Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, the private sector health facilities implementing partner of the Alive and Thrive Infant and Young Children Feeding and Nutrition Initiative in Kaduna and Lagos States, I am delighted, alongside our partners FHI 360, Save The Children International and all media partners to welcome the launch of the Multimedia Campaign To Improve Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in Kaduna today.

I am encouraged by this progress milestone as the Alive and Thrive Initiative is today launching the Multimedia Campaign to Improve Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in Kaduna, hosted by Special Guest of Honour, Wife of Kaduna State Governor, H.E. Aisha Ummi Garba El Rufai. The Wellbeing Foundation Africa is committed to improving knowledge and rates of breastfeeding for better health outcomes for women and their families in Nigeria.

Alive and Thrive aims to save lives, prevent illness stunting and malnutrition, ensuring the healthy growth and development of infants and young children through improved breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, through a four-pronged approach:  policy and advocacy; interpersonal communication and community mobilization; mass communication; and strategic use of data.

According to available data, malnutrition accounts for more than 50% of under-five mortality in the state. Infant Mortality rate is at 103 per 1000 live births (NDHS 2013), while under-5 mortality rates are at 169 per 1000 live births (NDHS 2013). The rate of timely breastfeeding initiation is 28.9% (MICS 2017), with only 19.7% of children being exclusively breastfed (MICS 2017), and only 10% of children aged 6 – 23 months were fed appropriately. Within the State, 11.7% of children are wasted from acute under nutrition, 47% of children under-5 years are stunted, while 34% are under weight (MICs 2017).