The USAID Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING), has deepened its advocacy on breastfeeding in the Northern Region. The organization is unhappy about the low rate at which breastfeeding is practiced in the region.
According to the Northern Regional Health Directorate, exclusive breastfeeding practice in the region remained very low at 64.7%.
But the USAID-RING project Nutrition Manager, Kristen Kappos has told Citi News the organization has intensified its advocacy to overturn the situation.
She reiterated her call on nursing mothers to religiously practice exclusive breast feeding for the first six months of child birth.
She said they could thereafter gradually introduce their babies to solid foods.
Kristen Kappos said, “Breast milk is nutritious and it prevents illnesses such as diarrhea, pneumonia and it helps the baby to grow strong and smart,” she underscored.
She said the USAID-RING project is fully committed to build stronger ties with relevant stakeholders in the health sector to combat malnutrition in rural Ghana.
She thus pleaded with health workers, volunteers and farmers to intensify their advocacy on breastfeeding within their operational zones.
The Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING) project is a 5-year integrated project funded by the USAID Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative.
It is designed to contribute to Government of Ghana (GoG) efforts to sustainably reduce poverty and improve the nutritional status of vulnerable populations.
The goal of RING is improved livelihoods and nutritional status of households in Ghana.
The project is being implemented in Chereponi, East Gonja, East Mamprusi, Karaga, Kpandai, Nanumba South, Saboba, Savelugu and Tolon districts.
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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana