Kenya marks breastfeeding week

Kenya marks breastfeeding week

The annual World Breastfeeding Week was Tuesday marked at Safaricom’s Michael Joseph Center after it was pushed forward to allow for the roll out of the polio program on August 1st.

Speaking at the function, Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore said that the program could not have come at a better time considering that a lot of women were leaving jobs or settling for lesser careers so that they can spend more time breastfeeding and taking care of their babies adding that it was clawing back gains made on the empowerment of the girl child and urged companies to take the issue of diversity and inclusion more seriously.

Collymore called on companies to invest in breastfeeding lounges and creche’s as they have proven to reduce work absenteism and raised the quality of work done by mothers.

“Safaricom did it because it is the right thing to do. It is not a Public Relations or a corporate thing,” said Collymore.

Dr. Jackson Kioko, who represented the Health Cabinet Secretary, said that companies should be more friendly and accommodating to mothers who are nursing at the work place.

Kioko added that companies like Safaricom, Redcross, Oserian flower farm, James Finlay company Kericho, Karen flower farm Koibatek, Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) and the National Bank of Kenya were pacesetters that should be emulated by all.

The Breastfeeding Week ends on August 7th, 2015.

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Safaricom Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore breastfeeding day

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