49% mothers breastfeed for 5 months …babies exposed to diseases
Adolf Kaure The 2024 SMART Nutrition Survey statistics reveal that a mere 49% of Namibian children aged zero to five months are exclusively breastfed. This was revealed by deputy minister of health, Susan Ndjaleka, when she called for a revamp in policies at the workplace to empower breastfeeding mothers when she spoke at the commemoration... The post 49% mothers breastfeed for 5 months …babies exposed to diseases appeared first on New Era .
Adolf Kaure
The 2024 SMART Nutrition Survey statistics reveal that a mere 49% of Namibian children aged zero to five months are exclusively breastfed.
This was revealed by deputy minister of health, Susan Ndjaleka, when she called for a revamp in policies at the workplace to empower breastfeeding mothers when she spoke at the commemoration of the 2026 World Breastfeeding Week in Windhoek on Monday. Ndjaleka emphasised that the narrative of weaning babies too early needs to change as it exposes them to unwanted illness early in their lives.
“These numbers tell us that our children are being weaned too early, often onto inadequate complementary foods, directly exposing them to the risks of malnutrition and chronic illness. We must change this narrative,” she added.
Other 2024 SMART Nutrition Survey statistics revealed that early initiation of breastfeeding stands at a low 63.6% and by the time children reach 12-23 months, continued breastfeeding drops to just 36%, with bottle-feeding practices reported at 34.1%.
