Ghana’s progress in exclusive breastfeeding has slowed from 46 per cent to 53 per cent over the past decade. 

Also, only about 42 per cent of infants are exclusively breastfed, far below the international target of 60 per cent by 2030.

These were revealed by the Nutrition Manager at UNICEF Ghana, Dr Annette Imohe, at the launch of the 2025 World Breastfeeding Week in Accra last Thursday.

The event was held on the theme: “Prioritise breastfeeding: create sustainable support systems”.

Dr Imohe said achieving higher rates required a multi-level approach, including better implementation and enforcement of existing policies such as the National Nutrition Policy and Legislative Instrument 1667, which regulates the marketing of breast milk substitutes.

“While we have good policies, the challenge lies in their implementation, monitoring and enforcement,” Dr Imohe said.

She said several structural and cultural barriers impeded exclusive breastfeeding, including inadequate knowledge, among mothers, the lack of family support, and cultural myths.

“For example, some believe that giving babies water in addition to breast milk is necessary. But this displaces essential nutrients, as breast milk already contains sufficient water,” she explained.

Dr Imohe further said that refusing to breastfeed came at a high cost to families and the nation, both in terms of healthcare spending and lost productivity.

“Breast milk is not only the first vaccine but also an economic equaliser.

For every $1 invested in breastfeeding, there is a return of up to $35,” she said.

Factors

The Director of the Family Health Division of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Kennedy Brightson, said more than half of Ghanaian babies were missing out on the full benefits of breast milk, including vital nutrients and antibodies that helped to prevent illness.

He said several factors contributed to the low uptake, including misconceptions about breastfeeding and inadequate support in workplaces.

“A lot of women have the wrong notion that breastfeeding makes them grow old or flattens their breasts, so they avoid it.

Others are influenced by foreign lifestyles promoted through television,” he said. 

Dr Brightson further stated that the lack of breastfeeding-friendly facilities in many formal workplaces, especially in urban areas such as Greater Accra Region, where many mothers were employed in government and private institutions, had proven a challenge to the breastfeeding campaign.

“Only one or two banks in Accra have breastfeeding centres.

Many women, after maternity leave, return to work without any support to continue breastfeeding.

This is a major barrier,” he said.

Benefits of breastmilk

Dr Charity Binka, who is the Executive Director of Women, Media and Change (WOMEC), a non-governmental organisation, said “breast milk delivers antibodies, stem cells, and other immune-boosting properties that protect against infections, sudden infant death syndrome, diarrhea, pneumonia, malnutrition and child obesity”.

She added that breastfeeding also benefitted mothers by reducing the risk of postpartum hemorrhage, breast and ovarian cancers, type 2 diabetes, and postnatal depression.

She further urged stakeholders to act with urgency, referencing data showing that nearly one in five children in the country was suffering from malnutrition.

“(This year) 2025 should be the year we all prioritise breastfeeding. Let’s create sustainable support systems.

It’s a call to action for all of us to act more intentionally and collectively,” she said.