Miss Ghana 2000 kicks off breast feeding campaign.

Miss Ghana 2000, Ewurefua Hawkson, kicked-off a nation -wide campaign on breast feeding at Koforidua on Thursday with an appeal to nursing mothers not to resort to feeding their infants with food supplement in favour of breast milk.

Fulfilling a pageant pledge to devout her reign to women causes, she told an enthusiastic audience of health workers, expectant and lactating mothers and a crowd which had gathered to catch a glimpse of her that, "I intend using my office to give advocacy to exclusive breast feeding up till six months after delivery".

She said, apart from giving the best start to babies life, breast milk also "immunises babies against two main causes of infant mortality, diarrhoea and acute respiratory infection".

Miss Ewurefua Hawkson appealed for public support to help create the necessary awareness on breast feeding, which she explained was the most important part of babies development and growth.

Miss Ewurefua Hawkson, had complimentary words for the people of Koforidua describing, her visit as a home-coming to a place "that I resolved to wear the Miss Ghana crown and I did".

The New Juaben Municipal Director of Health Services, Dr Dominic Quaye, said apart from designating six hospitals as baby friendly in the Eastern Region, 153 health workers have also been trained on the Baby Friendly Initiative, noting that although the results had been encouraging, there was still room for improvement.

A Senior Nursing Sister in charge of Maternal Care, Madam Cecilia Asare, urged nursing mothers to stick to breast feeding their babies exclusively because giving them food supplement and water at that period could lead to an overload on the babies kidney with its attendants health implications as they grow.

The Queenmother of the New Juaben Traditional area, Nana Yaa Daani 11, appealed to parents to give their children quality time.