Nutritionists have warned against the growing practice of substituting breast milk with unhealthy foods for babies below the age of six months as one of the factors fueling malnutrition.
During the commemoration of this year's breastfeeding month at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital on Thursday, expert nutritionists and stakeholders reflected on impediments to effective breastfeeding with a call for behavioural change, policy strengthening and enforcement of existing legal frameworks.
Mr Richard Ninsiima, a principal nutritionist at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital and head of the nutrition unit, noted that the numbers of malnourished children received at the unit - at least 60 every week - are still high and attributed this to introduction of infants to dangerous foods before the right time among other challenges.
"The only recommended food for infants below six months is breast milk, there is a growing vice of feeding babies on cassava porridge but this food is an energy giving food yet a baby needs body building foods most, we receive several babies whose growth was stunted by this wrong habit," he noted.
August is a breastfeeding month commemorated annually and this year's theme is "Breastfeeding for a sustainable start in life: strengthen what works."
Mr Ninsiima asked mothers to seek advice if they find any challenge in fulfilling their obligation for up to six months.
"There are always exceptions for instance mothers with HIV, but proper guidance should come from technical people and we encourage mothers to desist from feeding their babies any food other than breast milk, but in case of any challenge, they should seek guidance," he said.
Among other challenges raised include lack of breastfeeding facilities at most workplaces though the law provides for the same to enable mothers to feed their babies while at work. Absence of such facilities forces many to leave them at home.
"As a country we're still far from realising the legal provision that tasks employers to provide space and time for mothers to keep and care for their babies at workstations, eventually they leave them home and thinking of alternative foods begins here, imagine feeding a baby on black tea the entire day, which nutrients in mere boiled water!" Mr Ninsiima wondered.
In 2025, Parliament amended the Employment Act to insert new sections including 56A which mandates every employer to avail time, space or a facility for breastfeeding and childcare for children of employees.
Dr Mary Nyantaro, a consultant paediatrician, reiterated the value of breastfeeding noting that it's the child's first source of rich nutrition, a first protection against diseases, and a foundation of steady mental and holistic healthy growth which relieves the country from the burden of a sickly population.
The Bishop of West Buganda Diocese, Rt. Rev. Gaster Nsereko, urged men to support their breastfeeding wives by relieving them of some house chores so that they reserve time for taking care of infants well at least in the first sensitive six months.
"For mothers to fulfill this critical mandate they always need support, I urge men to offer that help by relieving some tasks from mothers, it will give them enough time," he said.
Mr Jude Muleke, the Kabaka's chief in Buddu County, asked women to also avoid tampering with breast milk, but instead strive to deliver it to babies in a pure natural form.
"I have learnt that some women get their breast milk and refrigerate it, so that their babies can be fed while away, but I think this is not also right, let's avoid tampering with the natural state of breast milk," he noted.
According to the Ministry of Health's recent statistics, in just six years, Uganda has moved from 66 percent to 94 percent of mothers exclusively breastfeeding their babies in the first six months of life and 81 percent of newborns are put to the breast within the first hour of birth.
However, gaps remain. Health officials reported a drop in breastfeeding beyond six months and a decline in complementary feeding practices.
