Kaduna
The Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN) on Tuesday solicited the support of Trade Union Congress (TUC) to push for extension of maternity leave from three to six months in Kaduna state.
CS-SUNN Coordinator in the state, Mr Silas Ideva, made the call during a visit to TUC secretariat in the state, saying the move was necessary to support nursing mothers to exclusively breastfeed their children.
He said that Nigeria currently occupied the second position in the area of child mortality in the world, adding that 50 per cent of infant mortality in the state was associated with poor nutrition.
He said that the partnership with TUC was crucial to ensure that the state Assembly enacts a law extending maternity leave for working class nursing mothers from the current three months to six months.
“The push followed the 2017 Abuja Declaration where stakeholders, national and state assemblies, promised to enact the law, and as civil society organisations, we have a duty to ensure that it comes to fruition,” he said.
