NAFDAC inaugurates Borno technical committee on BMS Code

The Borno State multi-sectoral technical committee on the implementation of the Breastmilk Substitutes (BMS) Code has been inaugurated in Maiduguri, the state capital.

The Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, represented by the Borno State Coordinator of NAFDAC, Mr Jamil Audu, said the code was aimed at ensuring safe feeding and better nutrition for babies and protecting breastfeeding mothers from aggressive marketing of baby foods.

“Today we are here to inaugurate the committee in Borno and to build the capacity of its members for the great task ahead of us. This we are able to achieve with the support of our long-standing partner, Alive and Thrive, who have shown great commitment to the implementation of the BMS Code,” Adeyeye said.

According to her, the objectives of BMS monitoring, among others, include identifying the level of implementation or compliance, reporting such violations, and activating an enforcement mechanism that would stop such violations and deter future violations.

In her speech, the director of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at NAFDAC, Mrs Eva Edwards, said the BMS Code was a set of recommendations by WHO for UN member countries to adopt.

She said members of the committee were selected as professionals who would play a crucial role in improving breastfeeding in Borno.

“Our aim is to not only equip ourselves with knowledge but also to emerge as torchbearers of positive change within our communities and beyond. Let us be unwavering advocates for the protection of infant health, the rights of mothers, and the sanctity of breastfeeding,” Edward said.