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Shocking Move: Sierra Leone to Double Maternity Leave—What It Means for New Mothers!
Hon. Cathrine Zainab Tarawally, Chairperson of the Committee on Gender and Children’s Affairs in Sierra Leone’s Parliament, has announced a plan to extend maternal leave from three to six months. This announcement comes as the country prepares to observe World Breastfeeding Week from August 1 to August 7.
In her statement, Hon. Tarawally highlighted Parliament’s dedication to bolstering support for new mothers. She explained that Sierra Leone is taking steps to align with global practices by enacting the Breast Milk Substitute Act and aiming to extend maternal leave to six months. She also called for stricter regulations to close shops selling harmful baby foods.
Hon. Tarawally encouraged public support for exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months, stressing its importance for infant health.
Similarly, Deputy Minister of Trade, Fatmata Kargbo, expressed support for this initiative, emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts with Parliament to advocate for breastfeeding. She advised market women to ensure their infants are breastfed for 20 minutes every two hours for optimal growth and development.
Minister of State at the Vice President’s Office, Manty Tarawallie, addressed the issue of malnutrition, identifying it as a major factor in infant mortality. She emphasized that breastfeeding is vital for boosting immunity, brain development, and emotional bonding.
Liv Elin Indreiten, Deputy Director of UNICEF, praised breastfeeding as a free and effective way to reduce child mortality by 16%. She called for stronger government support for breastfeeding through legislation and improved healthcare services and advocated for workplaces to support extended maternity leave. Indreiten also underscored the importance of community involvement, recognizing that raising a child is a collective effort.
UNICEF TO SUPPORT SCHOOLS AS IT REOPENS AGAIN
Afrinity Production confidently unveil to you the stand of UNICEF in supporting school as they resume in this pandemic.
As clearly seen by Afrinity Production in the post made by UNICEF in their verified media handle, schools will be supported to help children across the world to access the biding resumption of schools.
According to UNICEF, more than 1.57 billion children have been affected by the escalation of COVID-19 related school closures.
UNICEF said they don’t yet have enough evidence to measure the impact on disease transmission rates. “But the risks to children’s learning, safety and wellbeing are well documented.”
“The longer children are out of school, the greater the risk of sexual violence, child labour and child marriage”, UNICEF said.
“As schools make plans to reopen after COVID-19 shutdowns, it can’t be business as usual. We’re working with governments and partners to invest in better schools – and reach the most vulnerable children. This includes making clean water, nutritious meals, psychosocial support and access to the Internet available for every child”, they lamented.
By Amie T. Camara
D5 Creation