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Mrs. Abimbola Fashola (2nd L) presenting N50,000 cheque to Prince Oluwtosin Wilson (3rd R) from Ojokoro LGA during 2009 Child Health Week.
Mrs. Abimbola Fashola (M) presenting N50,000 cheque to Princess Oro-busa Nughiren (L) from Kosofe LGA during 2009 Child Health Week.Sep 8, 2009 - First Lady Urges Mothers To Cultivate Habits Of Good Personal Hygiene
• As 2009 Child Health Week, World Breast Feeding Week end
First Lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola at the weekend appealed to mothers in the State to maintain healthy habits in their homes in order to preserve the health of their families.
The First Lady who spoke at the Grande-finale of the 2009 Child Health Week and Breast Feeding Week in the State, said the Child Health Week and Breast Feeding Week have been jointly celebrated in the State since 2003 adding that the essence is to highlight the significant role mothers play in the healthy upbringing of their children.
The themes of the 2009 Child Health Week and World Breast Feeding Week are “Healthy Children, Healthy Future” with a slogan “Happy Family” and Breastfeeding: “A Vital Emergency Response” “Are you Ready?” respectively.
The First Lady lamented that over 70 per cent of children in the State die from diseases such as Malaria, Measles, diarrhea and so on all of which can be prevented if healthy habits are developed at the right time adding. “Government is encouraging us to cultivate the habit of good personal hygiene by keeping our environment clean at all times because a dirty environment is a good breeding ground for all kinds of diseases, especially malaria.
“The major objective of this Child Health Week and Breast Feeding Week is to sensitize the public, especially mothers, to take advantage of the facilities provided at the public health centres located in all the Local Government in the State. These centres are established and equipped to provide regular preventive services such as immunization, antenatal care, delivery, post natal care, family planning, de-worming, treatment of minor ailments, control of diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and voluntary counseling, among others”, the First Lady said.
Mrs. Fashola urged mothers to make it a habit to visit Primary Health Care Centres for their health needs and for the whole family even after their babies have completed their routine immunizations, adding, “This is very important because Primary Health Care is the bedrock of effective and efficient health care service delivery all over the world”.
“Every child has the right to be breastfed because the breast milk is the child’s natural food which contains all the essential nutrients for survival, healthy and balanced growth of the baby. Apart from the health benefits to the baby, it has also been scientifically proved that breast feeding also enhances the total health of the mother by reducing her risk of developing some diseases including breast cancer among others”, the First Lady counseled.
She appealed for the support of corporate organizations and institutions by providing a conducive environment for nursing mothers in their establishments to breastfeed their babies even while at work pointing out that such Baby friendly actions would promote the general well being of the society “as a well nurtured and nourished child is not only a pride to his or her family but also an asset to the society”.
Congratulating the Child Health Week Prince and Princess, the Breast Feeding champions and the Outstanding Father Award winner, the First Lady commended the efforts of the leadership and staff of the Ministry of Health for the successful double celebrations of this year’s Child Health Week and World Breastfeeding Week, adding, “The support and contributions of our partners especially UNICEF and WHO, sponsors, Local Government Chairmen and Community leaders are very well appreciated”.
Over 300 mothers across the State attended the Grande Finale of the week-long event which featured dances, drama presentations and Child Health Week Prince and Princess, the Breast Feeding Champions and the Outstanding Father Award competitions.
Master Oluwatosin Wilson from Ojokoro Local Government Area and Miss Orobusa Nughiren from Kosofe Local Government Area who won the Prince and Princess Awards respectively were later presented with a cheque valued at N50,000 each by the First Lady.