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05 August 2020 | Story Dr Chantell Witten | Photo Supplied
Dr Chantell Witten
Globally, World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated from 1 to 7 August annually to raise awareness and galvanise action to promote, protect, and support breastfeeding. This year’s theme, #WBW2020, will focus on the impact of infant feeding on the environment/climate change to protect the health of babies, the planet, and its people. Sadly, despite all the health and social benefits of breastfeeding, South Africa has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates globally.  Why is this?

Women in general face a very hostile social environment in South Africa, even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Almost one in two households in South Africa is female-headed, and approximately nine million children live in fatherless homes.  This puts an added burden on women, and most often mothers, to economically provide for essentials such as food, transport, and health care. Non-breastfeeding implies a reliance on other infant feeding, most often commercial and expensive. This inadvertently leads to inappropriate infant feeding, with the introduction of other foods before the age of six months.  The World Health Organisation and the National Department of Health recommends and promotes exclusive breastfeeding for all infants during the first six months of life.  In the era of lifelong antiretroviral treatment for HIV, all women can now safely breastfeed their infants. Infants younger than six months do not need anything else but breastmilk.

Breastmilk is a unique biological material that adapts to the needs of the growing infant.  Breastmilk provides nutrition, immunity, and unique nutrients to promote neurocognitive development.  However, to assist mothers in breastfeeding, we need a supportive environment at home, in our communities, and in our workplaces.  Breastfeeding mothers face an inordinate amount of pressure and negative inputs from hostile family who do not support the mother’s role to mother her child as she sees fit, or from hostile public spaces that do not cater for the breastfeeding mother, such as shopping malls and restaurants.  This saw Spur, the well-known family restaurant group, putting forward a public breastfeeding policy for their retail chain.  In order to support the return of breastfeeding mothers to the workplace, we need all workplace environments to endorse and comply with the code of good practice on pregnancy and afterbirth.  Perhaps in this time of COVID-19, more women will be working from home and will have the pleasure and privilege afforded to them to breastfeed their babies for longer.  The longer children are breastfed, the longer the health benefits and protection, even into the adult years.  Breastfeeding is associated with lower rates of obesity, lower rates of non-communicable diseases, and higher rates of cognitive development.

COVID-19 has forced us to have compassion and stand in solidarity with each other; now, more than ever, we need to stand together with breastfeeding mothers and women in general.  After all, breastfeeding is best for babies, best for our planet, and best for everyone.

 

Opinion article by Dr Chantell Witten, Division of Health Professions Education, University of the Free State

 

News Archive

Qwaqwa Campus launches No Student Hungry Programme
2013-05-02

 

Samkelo Duma (white shirt) flanked by some of the guests during the launch of the NSH Programme on the Qwaqwa Campus.
Photo: Thabo Kessah
02 May 2013

The Qwaqwa Campus of the University of the Free State launched the No Student Hungry (NSH) Programme on Friday 26 April 2013. The programme aims to provide needy students with a daily balanced meal to enable them to concentrate in class and ultimately obtain their degrees. The programme – initiated by Vice-Chancellor and Rector Prof Jonathan Jansen in 2011 on the Bloemfontein Campus – already feeds hundreds of students.

Rudi Buys, Dean of Student Affairs who represented the Rectorate, encouraged students in need to focus more on their desire for greatness.

“Through this programme, you will be able you to shift your focus from the hunger pangs and rather focus all your energy on the hunger to make Africa great,” said Buys. “We want you to be different from the rest of your generation that is reluctant to compete for greatness. Many of your peers prefer mediocrity and it is our wish that through this programme, you can start learning to compete with the best,” Buys impelled.

According to the Qwaqwa Campus programme co-coordinator, Selloane Phoofolo, NSH operates on a primary and a secondary level.

“The primary level offers a food bursary to the students whose academic performance is above 65 percent and not receiving any form of financial assistance. For the 2013 academic year, we had 53 students applying and 31 have qualified. They are getting a meal for R25.00 a day at the Dining Hall,” said Phoofolo.

She further explained that, “On the secondary level, we provide monthly food parcels to 19 students who did not qualify for the food bursary. These food parcels are donated by Pick n Pay and Stop Hunger Now SA. For this, beneficiaries must undertake 40 hours of community service during the year. They must also partake in student activities. Their academic progress is monitored by the Office of Social Work.”

One of the beneficiaries, a final-year BA degree student Samkelo Duma, expressed his gratitude towards the UFS for giving him an equal opportunity to those in more fortunate situations to do his best in his studies. “It is difficult to study and concentrate on an empty stomach and I must say that the NSH is very helpful. I do not just get a meal, but I get a healthy meal to keep me going throughout the tough day,” Duma said.

Also present at the launch were the patrons of the programme, Ms Grace Jansen and Dr Carin Buys. They volunteer their time and energy to raise funds for the project.

Students apply for the allowances and are selected on the basis of financial need, academic results, active participation in student life programmes and commitment to give something back to the community.

You can also invest in these students' future by contributing R10.00 each time you sms the word 'Answer' to 38722.

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