Ghana’s health authorities issued a sharp rebuke to medical facilities promoting infant formula over breastfeeding, vowing disciplinary action for violations.
At Thursday’s World Breastfeeding Week launch, Dr. Brightson, Director of the GHS Family Health Division, revealed Greater Accra’s exclusive breastfeeding rate sits alarmingly low at 42% the nation’s weakest.
“Formula promotion in Ghanaian health facilities is a crime. We will come after offenders,” he declared.
While clarifying formula isn’t inherently banned, Brightson stressed the non-negotiable need for six months of exclusive breastfeeding. “Brain growth, bone development, intelligence—all depend on breast milk’s vital ingredients,” he explained.
Advocates echoed calls for structural reforms, demanding extended maternity leave from three to six months and lactation rooms in workplaces. UNICEF Ghana’s Dr. Annette Imohe cited cultural myths, family pressure, and misinformation as barriers behind Ghana’s 53% national breastfeeding rate.
She warned against early water introduction, noting, “Breast milk is a child’s first vaccine. Water displaces nutrition infants desperately need.”
The GHS now urges nationwide mobilization, prioritizing supportive systems for mothers and eradicating practices that jeopardize child health.
