Lagos exceeds global breastfeeding target with 57.4% EBF rate
Lagos State has recorded an Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) rate of 57.4 per cent, surpassing the global target of 50 per cent, as it renewed its commitment to strengthening proven interventions that improve infant nutrition and child survival during the 2026 World Breastfeeding Week celebration.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr. (Mrs.) Kemi Ogunyemi, disclosed this during a press briefing at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Alausa, noting that while the State had made remarkable progress in exclusive breastfeeding, more work was needed to improve the early initiation of breastfeeding, which currently stands at 14 per cent.
Speaking on the theme, “Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works,” Ogunyemi described breastfeeding as one of the most effective child survival strategies.
She said breast milk remains the safest, most nutritious and most affordable source of infant nutrition, adding that exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, followed by continued breastfeeding alongside appropriate complementary feeding up to two years, promotes optimal cognitive, physical and mental development while reducing infant illnesses and deaths.
Ogunyemi explained that this year’s global theme, declared by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), was particularly relevant in the current economic climate because breastfeeding provides families with a sustainable and cost-effective means of ensuring optimal infant nutrition.
She said Lagos State had strengthened Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) strategies through healthcare worker training, skilled breastfeeding counselling, enforcement of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and sustained nutrition education.
According to her, all 334 Primary Health Centres, 29 secondary health facilities and one tertiary facility in the State currently implement the MIYCN strategy with an effective referral system.
The Special Adviser, however, expressed concern over the low rate of breastfeeding within the first hour after birth, attributing it partly to misconceptions about colostrum, the first yellowish breast milk, despite its proven health benefits.
