Patience Makwele
The ministry of health and social services has announced a nationwide rollout of the “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding” across all maternity wards, antenatal clinics and health facilities as Namibia battles low exclusive breastfeeding rates and persistent child malnutrition.
Launching World Breastfeeding Week 2026 at Windhoek Central Hospital on Monday, deputy minister Suzan Ndjaleka said the initiative forms part of broader reforms aimed at strengthening support systems for mothers after the 2024 SMART Nutrition Survey revealed that only 49% of infants aged zero to five months are exclusively breastfed.
The survey also found that early initiation of breastfeeding stands at 63.6%, while continued breastfeeding drops to 36% among children aged 12 to 23 months. Bottle-feeding practices were recorded at 34.1%.
“These numbers tell us that our children are being weaned too early, often onto inadequate complementary foods, directly exposing them to the risks of malnutrition and chronic illness. We must change this narrative,” Ndjaleka said.
She said the ministry would move beyond awareness campaigns by introducing practical measures within health facilities, workplaces, communities and homes.
Among the planned interventions are the implementation of the internationally recognised ten steps to successful breastfeeding, expanded baby-friendly hospital initiatives, skilled breastfeeding counselling for mothers, dedicated breastfeeding corners in workplaces, flexible working arrangements for nursing mothers and stronger community support groups.
“A mother should never have to choose between her career and her child’s health,” she said.
Ndjaleka also appealed to fathers and families to play a more active role in supporting breastfeeding mothers, saying emotional and practical support was equally important.
“It is the father preparing a meal for the mother while she nurses their baby or taking care of the household so she can rest,” she said.
The deputy minister stressed that breastfeeding remains one of the most effective public health interventions, reducing childhood illness while lowering mothers’ risk of postpartum depression, hypertension and diabetes.
Speaking at the same event, UNICEF Namibia Country Representative Samuel Ocran said although Namibia has made progress, the country still has significant work to do.
He noted that nearly 88% of Namibian children are breastfed but only 49% of babies younger than six months are exclusively breastfed, with the figure dropping to 25% in the Khomas Region.
“We already know what works. Mothers succeed when they receive quality counselling before and after birth, when hospitals are baby-friendly, and when workplaces create breastfeeding-friendly environments,” Ocran said.
He urged fathers to become active partners in child nutrition.
“Breastfeeding is not only the mother’s responsibility. It is a family responsibility,” he said.
Katutura East constituency councillor Richard Gaoseb, representing Khomas Governor Sam Nujoma, said sustainable support systems require continued investment in maternal and child healthcare.
He pointed to the recent deployment of 12 medical specialists and medical officers to China for specialised clinical training, saying the programme would strengthen services that support mothers and newborns.
Acting control health programme officer for food and nutrition Marjorie van Wyk encouraged mothers to initiate breastfeeding immediately after birth, describing breast milk as a child’s first source of food security and critical for brain development, immunity and survival.
She said breastfeeding should continue alongside complementary foods until at least two years of age, adding that stronger family and community support was essential if Namibia hoped to improve exclusive breastfeeding rates.
This year’s World Breastfeeding Week is being commemorated under the theme “Prioritise Breastfeeding: Create Sustainable Support Systems.”
