In commemoration of the world breastfeeding week, the Lagos Food Bank Initiative held a week long program from the 1st – 7th of August, 2022 through its Nutritious Meal Plan Intervention for Vulnerable Mothers and Children, (NUMEPLAN) program. The seminar and online campaign which was tagged “Step Up For Breastfeeding: Educating and Supporting Breastfeeding Mothers in 

Low-cost Communities” was set to raise awareness on the importance of breastfeeding and community support for mothers, alongside counseling on child survival strategies.

The week-long event began with the nutritional screening of the mothers and children with the first phase of questionnaire administered by the Lagos Food Bank’s in-house nutritionists, and volunteer health workers. The seminar was divided into several sessions where the participants were properly educated on the importance of breastfeeding, the proper techniques while breastfeeding, complementary breastfeeding, and an open discussion session with the mothers and facilitators. 

The grand finale of the event, where our in-house nutritionists showed practical food demonstrations for all the participants present, as they learnt the importance of breastfeeding food fortification for their babies. One of the mothers’ present, Mrs Toyin spoke excitedly about how much she had gained from the seminar and will be taking the proper steps to ensure her baby is healthy. The seminar concluded with a post questionnaire administered to enable the nutritionist to gauge the level of understanding of all the participants.