The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called on governments, employers, communities and families to strengthen support for breastfeeding mothers by adopting family-friendly workplace policies.

The Chief of UNICEF Kano Field Office, Mr. Shafeeq Ur-Rehman, made the call during the 2026 World Breastfeeding Week road walk held in Kano.

He noted that many women return to work shortly after childbirth, making it difficult to practice exclusive breastfeeding for the recommended first six months of life.

According to him, only 14 states in Nigeria currently provide six months of paid maternity leave, a policy that enables mothers to exclusively breastfeed their babies during the critical early months.

Mr. Ur-Rehman urged the remaining 22 states, including Kano, Jigawa and Katsina, to adopt and implement similar policies to improve maternal and child health outcomes.

Also speaking, the Kano State Nutrition Officer, Aishatu Sulaiman, said the campaign seeks to promote exclusive breastfeeding from birth to six months and continued breastfeeding alongside complementary feeding up to two years of age.

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