Akwa Ibom First Lady Coordinator urges parents to register new born babies

From Isaac Job, Uyo

The Coordinator, Office of the First Lady, Akwa Ibom State, Lady Helen Eno Obareki, has urged parents to register the birth of newborn babies, as many children in the state have not been documented with authentic birth certificates from the National Population Commission.

Speaking during the empowerment programme for multiple birth families under the Maternal and Child Healthcare thematic area of the Golden Initiative For All (GIFA) in Uyo, Lady Obareki urged workers at primary healthcare centres, traditional birth attendants and wives of local government chairmen to sensitise mothers in their areas on the importance of registering their children’s births.

“It is important that the birth of babies is documented. My staff gave me a list of 330 babies, but when I insisted that all of the babies should have their birth certificates, that number reduced drastically.

“Sensitise mothers on the need to register the birth of their children, irrespective of where the delivery takes place. Even when they give birth at home or at the traditional birth attendant’s place, they should endeavour to get their children registered.

The coordinator of the office of the first lady appreciated Governor Umo Eno for his regular support of her GIFA programmes

Lady Obareki, in the company of female stakeholders in the state, distributed care packages to families of multiple-birth children to help ameliorate the burden of raising the children.

The Special Assistant to the Governor on General Duties, Mrs Anne Abraham, said the empowerment programme for multiple birth families remains a vital extension of the Maternal and Child Healthcare component of the Golden Initiative for All, christened as the GIFA programme in the state

Abraham explained that the programme, which specifically targets families with babies aged 0–3 months, was also designed to support fathers who lost their spouses during childbirth and commended stakeholders and development partners for their commitment to the GIFA vision.

The Akwa Ibom State Nutrition Officer, Dr Idongesit Umoh, while delivering a health talk, emphasised the importance of exclusive breastfeeding of newborn babies

She described breast milk as the perfect first food for infants, necessary for brain development and offering natural family planning benefits.

According to her, breast milk should be given exclusively for the first six months before introducing complementary foods, while advocating for a six-month paid maternity leave policy to support nursing mothers and urging mothers to consume a balanced diet and breastfeed their babies a minimum of 8 times daily and on demand.

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