The Borno state government has pledged to implement six-month maternity leave for working mothers who are civil servants.

This was revealed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health and Human Services, Dr. Mohammed Ghuluze, on Friday, August 4, during the 2023 World Breastfeeding Week in Maiduguri, the state capital. Ghuluze clarified that the government is stepping up efforts to achieve the 50 percent exclusive breastfeeding target set by the World Health Assembly from the current 40 percent. He stated: “It is intended to galvanise action across multiple sectors, including the private sector, on how to improve existing breastfeeding facilities, create new ones where there are none, and review the possibility of legislating policies that promote breastfeeding-friendly workplaces.”

On his part, the chairman of the Borno State House of Assembly Committee on Health, Maina Mustapha Garba, explained that the state government has four months of maternity leave in place for working mothers, assuring that efforts are on to extend it to six months. Garba, a renowned health professional, called for more efforts among crucial actors with a view to creating adequate awareness of the need for six-month maternity leaves and friendly workplaces for nursing mothers in the state.

Ada Peter