The Enugu State Civil Service rules have been reviewed by the Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s administration.
By virtue of the review, male civil servants whose wives put to bed are now entitled to a 3-week paternity leave whereas the nursing mothers would now get a six-month maternity leave as against the initial three months.
This new policy was announced by the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sam Ngwu while unveiling plans to mark the 2015 Breast Feeding Week in the state.
According to him, the amendment was “to strengthen the family as a social unit and also promote mother and child welfare.”
Ngwu, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Moses Otiji, explained that the extension of the maternity leave would encourage nursing mothers in the state to engage in the internationally recommended four to six months exclusive breast feeding of newborn babies, Vanguard reports.
He further advised that nursing mothers should be encouraged to continuously breast feed their babies in their places of work whether private or public sector.
He said, “The week is dedicated to draw the attention of the public on the need for exclusive breast feeding which contains yellow milk that contains most of the vital ingredients for healthy growth of the baby.”
Meanwhile, a few days ago, the Coordinator of Baby Friendly Initiative, Enugu State Ministry of Health, Mrs. Pauline Enenwali disclosed that at least 15 children die in Enugu daily due to poor nutrition.
Enenwali said, “The health indices on exclusive breastfeeding in the State were so poor that not less than 5,000 babies died annually arising from malnutrition while the prevalence of malnutrition stood at 30.6 per cent.”
