Alive & Thrive Advocate Use Of MMS By Pregnant Women
http://www.newsportng.com.ng A Non-governmental organization, under the auspices of Alive & Thrive, has advocated for the use of Multiple Micronutrients Supplements (MMS) for pregnant women in place of Iron Folic Acid, (IFA).
The Zonal Coordinator, Alive & Thrive, Kaduna state Sarah Didi Kwasu asserted this during the roundtable meeting with media Practitioners and other relevant stakeholders in Kaduna on Friday.
According to her, MMS contain better nutrients that can enhance the health of both the mother and the child until the period of delivery.
Kwasu said that the MMS should not be taken alongside IFA, hence it already contain all the nutrients in IFA and better, educating that it is a once-a-day pill of critical micronutrients, containing between 13 -15 essential vitamins and minerals for pregnant women and meets micronutrient requirements that poor diets cannot meet.
She also said that a lot of discussion is going on between A&T and other critical stakeholders both in Kaduna state and at the Federal level to make the new supplement available and accessible in other for pregnant women to give birth to more healthier babies.
In an interview shortly after the roundtable with the Head of Communication, Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) Hajiya Mairo Tahir, said they are working tirelessly to ensure that the product is made available in good quantity as soon as possible.
She disclosed that ANRiN in Kaduna state remains committed towards ensuring that proper diet is strictly adhered to, while explaining that ignorance is the major causes of malnutrition.
Mairo, said “ANRiN has been helping in the area of purchasing supplements for malnourished children and now diversifying into the Micro nutrient supplement. For ANRiN’s development objectives, we know that the mother will be carried along as well as the child. So it’s all encompassing. ANRiN is trying to ensure that this supplement is available for all mothers in Kaduna state so that they can access it for their overall wellbeing.”
On her part, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, (NAFDAC) the desk Officer, Breast Milk Substitute, (BMS) Mrs. Rahila Maishanu, warned against substituting breast milk for children.
Maishanu said breast-feeding is a high impact, low technology, cost effective intervention for child survival and optimal cognitive sustainability, but sadly the practice is still very low, hence the need to accelerate Exclusive Breastfeeding, (EBF) for the first six months of the life of a baby.
She expressed dissatisfaction on the ground that Nigeria is doing very poorly in the endeavour, hence the need to scale up the practice to 50% by 2025 in line with the global target.
Maishanu urged media organizations as Fourth Estate of the Realm to be ambassadors of good diets in their reportage and advert campaigns, even as the public believes in them to be the carrier of truth.
