Nigeria Launches 1,000 Days Campaign as Exclusive Breastfeeding Remains at 29%

The Federal Government has launched a national Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) campaign focused on the first 1,000 days of life, as Nigeria continues to face substantial gaps in recommended infant and young child feeding practices.

The campaign was launched on 3 August 2026 in Abuja as part of Nigeria’s commemoration of World Breastfeeding Week, with the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare calling for stronger action to protect, promote and support breastfeeding and maternal and child nutrition.

The timing comes against a backdrop of persistent gaps in breastfeeding practices. Data from the 2023–24 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey show that while breastfeeding is widespread, only 29% of children under six months are exclusively breastfed, while 36% of children born in the two years preceding the survey were put to the breast within one hour of birth.

The figures highlight a central challenge for Nigeria: breastfeeding is common, but recommended breastfeeding practices are not yet being achieved at the scale required.

Government targets the first 1,000 days

Speaking at the launch, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom S mni, described breastfeeding as an effective and cost-effective intervention for improving child survival and development.

She said the first 1,000 days from conception through a child's second year represent a critical period for nutrition, growth and development.

According to the Ministry, the new campaign is intended to improve knowledge and encourage evidence-based nutrition practices throughout pregnancy, infancy and early childhood. Its focus includes maternal nutrition, early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, timely introduction of complementary foods and continued breastfeeding alongside appropriate complementary feeding.

The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, followed by the introduction of nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues up to two years of age or beyond.

Nigeria's 2024 DHS also found that only 6% of children aged 6–23 months met the minimum acceptable diet, underscoring that the country's nutrition challenge extends beyond breastfeeding to the quality and adequacy of children's diets after six months.

Beyond mothers: government identifies wider barriers

The Ministry identified several factors that can undermine optimal breastfeeding, including delayed initiation, cultural beliefs, inadequate counselling, limited workplace support, marketing of breast-milk substitutes and insufficient community participation.

The government said its response will include strengthening the National Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition Strategy, expanding Baby-Friendly Hospital and Community Initiatives, improving the capacity of health workers, enforcing the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, promoting breastfeeding-friendly workplaces and supporting community breastfeeding groups.

This approach is significant because breastfeeding outcomes are influenced not only by individual decisions but also by health services, workplace conditions, family support and the wider social environment.

The Federal Ministry's nutrition division is responsible for infant and young child feeding programmes, policy development, education and capacity building as part of the country's broader nutrition response.

Campaign expected to reach communities

The government said the campaign will seek to take nutrition messages beyond national-level events and into communities, primary healthcare facilities and households.

At the launch, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Health, Uju Rochas-Anwukah, said the Office of the Vice-President supported the campaign and called for its implementation across Nigeria's 774 local government areas.

She said the campaign should leverage the Nutrition 774 framework and reach wards, primary healthcare centres and households.

For Nigeria, the challenge will now be translating the campaign into sustained support for mothers and families, particularly through primary healthcare services and community-level interventions.

Why it matters

The latest DHS figures show why a new campaign alone is unlikely to be enough. Nigeria already has high levels of breastfeeding initiation at some point during childhood, but recommended practices around when breastfeeding starts, exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months and appropriate feeding after six months remain uneven.

The 2024 DHS reports that 96% of children under two had ever been breastfed, compared with 29% who were exclusively breastfed during the first six months.

The gap therefore presents a broader health-system challenge: ensuring that mothers receive consistent, evidence-based support before delivery, during the immediate postnatal period and throughout infancy.

For health professionals, including pharmacists working in community and primary healthcare settings, this also reinforces the importance of accurate counselling on infant feeding, medicines during lactation and referral of mothers who require additional clinical support.

The launch of the 1,000 Days campaign marks another government effort to address these gaps. Its impact, however, will ultimately depend on whether the campaign translates into sustained support, stronger services and measurable improvements in infant and young child feeding practices across Nigeria.

Sources: Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare; Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2024, Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, National Population Commission and ICF.