Exclusive Breadsfeeding Initiative At Yorogo-Tingre Gets Boost

The Participatory Action for Rural Development (PARDA), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) has intensified community engagements at Yorogo-Tingre, in the Bolgatanga Municipality to promote exclusive breastfeeding and maternal health care.

PARDA is an NGO aimed at influencing development agenda, especially in rural communities as well as promoting the Mother-Baby Friendly Health Facility (MBHI) Project to assist lactating mothers and pregnant women to access maternal healthcare and promote exclusive breastfeeding.

The NGO in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and UNICEF has organised periodic meetings with community members including, wives, husbands, pregnant women, mothers, and Chiefs.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) during one of the community engagements, Mr Samuel Ngumah, the Project Coordinator for PARDA, noted that some cultural factors and beliefs were barriers to exclusive breastfeeding and access to maternal healthcare.

He mentioned beliefs that prevented some pregnant women from eating nutritious foods like eggs and chicken, and giving babies water at birth as some of the negative cultural practices that militated against exclusive breastfeeding.

He said the NGO aimed at breaking these barriers to quality maternal healthcare through education and sensitisation of community members to realise the importance of exclusive breastfeeding and skill delivery.

The Project Coordinator said giving birth at home negatively affected the health of both babies and mothers, noting that his outfit sought to ensure that the practice was eradicated to reduce the number of maternal deaths recorded each year.

Mr Ngumah noted that 59 and 45 communities respectively in the Bolgatanga and Bawku Municipalities have been enrolled onto the project, while a maternal facility was under construction in the Yorogo-Tingre community to further boost the quality of health delivery in the area.

The Project Coordinator explained that plans were underway to include Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programmes to promote good sanitation and access to water in the communities.

Mr Bawa Atule, the Assemblyman for the Yorogo-Tingre Electoral Area, explained that the community was using an old structure made from bricks as maternal facility and that the new facility when completed would be a major boost to the community's health needs.

He said the community had collaborated well with PARDA under the programme and indicated that most of the women were enlightened from the education they received from activities of PARDA and were now serving as role models to their fellow women in neighbouring communities.

Naba Edmond Atiah Adendaa, the Chief of Yorogo-Gaabiisi commended PARDA and its partners for their activities in the community and appealed to them to assist the community to construct a CHPS compound, and toilet facility in the community.