In Zimbabwe, Sayi is just one of many women, who, hard-pressed to the core by the country's mounting economic hardships, are forgoing exclusive breastfeeding. Twenty-six years after it was marked first, a World Health Assembly resolution endorsed the World Breastfeeding Week as an important breastfeeding promotion strategy. Yet this has impacted a large number of babies' health negatively, according to health experts. Last year, UNICEF and the World Health Organization, while marking the World Breastfeeding Week, blamed the coronavirus for derailing of the progress made in urging mothers to practice exclusive breastfeeding. According to UNICEF, with less women breastfeeding their babies, Zimbabwe has an infant mortality rate of 50 deaths per 1,000 births.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 06, 2022 14:39 UTC