NAFDAC inaugurates Borno technical committee on the BMS Code.

NAFDAC inaugurates Borno technical committee on the BMS Code.

By: Yakub Yakub

The Borno Multi-sectoral Technical Committee on the Implementation of the Breastmilk Substitutes (BMS) Code has been inaugurated.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony and capacity building for members of the committee in Maiduguri, the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, said the BMS code was launched with the aim of stepping up monitoring and compliance.

Adeyeye, who was represented by the Borno Coordinator of NAFDAC, Mr. Jamil Audu, said the code was aimed at ensuring safe feeding and better nutrition for babies and protecting breastfeeding mothers from aggressive marketing of baby foods.

“Today we are here to inaugurate the committee in Borno and to build the capacity of its members for the great task ahead of us.

“This we are able to achieve with the support of our long-standing partner, Alive and Thrive, who have shown great commitment to the implementation of the BMS Code,” Adeyeye said.

She said that the objectives of the BMS monitoring, among others, included identifying the level of implementation or compliance, reporting such violations, and activating an enforcement mechanism that would stop such violations and deter future violations.

In her speech, the Director, Food Safety and Applied Nutrition of NAFDAC, Mrs. Eva Edwards, said the BMS Code was a set of recommendations by WHO and UNICEF for member countries to adopt.

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Edward said that members of the committee were selected as professionals who would play a crucial role in improving breastfeeding in Borno.

“Our aim is to not only equip ourselves with knowledge but also to emerge as torchbearers of positive change within our communities and beyond.

“Let us be unwavering advocates for the protection of infant health, the rights of mothers, and the sanctity of breastfeeding,” Edward said.

In their respective goodwill messages as partners, Mr. Bashaar Abdulbaki, the Borno Coordinator of Alive and Thrive, and Mr. Ogbona Gideon, the Focal Person of Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN), Care Best Initiative (CBI), reiterated their commitment to supporting the BMS code.

They said the inauguration of the committee was a stepping stone towards promoting breastfeeding in the state and urged the state government to emulate the FG in approving six months of maternity leave to promote exclusive breastfeeding.

The Director of Pharmaceutical Services of Borno State, in his goodwill message, lauded the development and tasked all stakeholders with maximum commitment for positive results.

NAFDAC inaugurates Borno technical committee on the BMS Code.