August 2022

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), 40% of half a million humanitarian workers who provide frontline care during emergencies, wars, and disasters, are women. That is an estimated figure of 250,000 aid workers.

Despite this significant figure, there is still gender inequality between men and women in the humanitarian leadership sector, with the implication that women are still underrepresented in humanitarian leadership roles (Stiffman 2015, cited in Hill et al. 2016).

The demonstrated commitment and contribution of women in the humanitarian sector confirms that it is vital that government and stakeholders enable an inclusive environment for women to become leaders for the transformation of the humanitarian system and society at large.

Leadership equality, however, is not about only having the same number of men and women in top positions or in the top of the organizational structure, it is also about making sure that there is equal opportunity for both women and men to get there.

The lack of women in leadership has a great impact across sectors and countries. It impedes productivity and performance of workplaces and has individual and national health, socioeconomic, education, and political impacts. Therefore, it is expedient that more support and regard are given to women who labor on the front lines in the most conflicted and unsafe places in the world.

Speak Wednesday is an initiative of CFHI to address issues around gender-based violence and gender bias.

#SpeakWednesday #WorldHumanitarianDay #WomenInHumanitarianSector #WomenLeaders #GenderStereotype #GenderBias #GenderInequality

 In the past week, we discussed breastfeeding to a larger extent. We highlighted its physical, mental and health benefits to both mother and child.

Today, we will be sharing the economic benefits of breastfeeding as it affects individual, the community, and a Nation.

The economic benefits of breastfeeding include; lower net food cost to households, reduced expenditure on publicly subsidized formula and health care, and lower overall health care costs.

According to John Weimer, Economic Research Service(U.S. Department of Agriculture), in the US alone, an estimated minimum of $3.6 billion would be saved if breastfeeding were increased from current levels (64 percent in-hospital, 29 percent at 6 months) to those recommended by the U.S. Surgeon General (75 and 50 percent, respectively). Likely, this figure is an underestimation of the total savings because it represents cost savings from the treatment of only three childhood illnesses: Otitis media, Gastroenteritis, and Necrotizing enterocolitis.

The benefits of breastfeeding even on a large scale cannot be overly emphasized.

Therefore, exclusive breastfeeding should be encouraged by all.

#Breastfeeding #who #unfpa #unicef
#EducateandSupport
#BuildingBackBetter
#MondayHealthBurst

Despite the heightened awareness of the health benefits of breastfeeding, there is still a low rate of breastfeeding practices in Nigeria. This is because of the social inequalities against nursing mothers who struggle to live above these challenges.

According to epidemiologists, breastfeeding has become a social justice and health equity issue, and is no longer for rocking chairs.

Studies have shown that cultural and societal attitudes, poor family and social support, embarrassment about feeding in public, lactation problems including ignorance, and other psychological influences exacerbate the marginalization of nursing mothers. Such inequalities range from access to healthcare, education, employment, leadership roles, etc.

To address the social inequities and injustices in the opportunities and resources affecting the patterns of resourceful breastfeeding mothers, education and support from family and society are paramount. Also, the implementation of maternal legal rights will protect working nursing mothers from every form of social injustice and discrimination.

Speak Wednesday is an initiative of CFHI to address issues around gender-based violence and gender bias.

#SpeakWednesday #WorldBreastfeedingWeek #Breastfeedingchallenges #GenderBias #breastfeeding #inequality #GBV #UNFPA #UNICEF #WHO

Breastfeeding is a process by which breast milk is fed to a child. According to World Health Organization, it is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival, although nearly 2 out of 3 infants are not exclusively breastfed for the recommended 6 months. This is very common among female workers who are breadwinners and also nursing mothers.
Breastfeeding at the workplace poses a serious challenge to female workers in our society today.

Ordinarily, as Africans, nursing mothers feel nervous about breastfeeding in the public to avoid indecent exposure. Also, nursing mothers are treated unfavourably by some employers. Therefore, to preserve their job, most nursing mothers discontinue breastfeeding their children at an early stage.

What did the law say about the protection of nursing mothers?
In recognition of the recommended exclusive breastfeeding by the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health, the Nigerian law provided in Section 54 of the Labour Act (Cap L1 LFN 2004) thus;
(1)In any public or private industrial or commercial undertaking or any branch thereof, or any agricultural undertaking or any branch thereof, a woman-

(d) Shall, in any case, if she is nursing her child, be allowed half an hour twice a day during her working hours for that purpose?

The implementation of this law will support employers to provide lactation rooms with standardized facilities at the workplace. More importantly, it will help promote the exclusive breastfeeding rate and lactation practice among female workers and protect working mothers from discrimination from their employers and colleagues.

Speak Wednesday is an initiative of CFHI to address issues around gender-based violence and gender bias.

#SpeakWednesday #WorldBreastfeedingWeek #BreastfeedingFemaleWorkers #GenderBias