PRISONS REFORMS AGENDA ON SHOW AS WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK IS OBSERVED

By Sean Mutuma and Joy Ngige

Phylis Munyiva and Afleen Atieno keenly follow proceedings during celebrations to mark this year’s World Breastfeeding Week at the Lang’ata women's prison.

The two young women serving time at the facility, share a common bond. They both delivered their children inside prison walls.

For Afleen, being handed a two-and-a-half-year sentence for manslaughter while pregnant was a double blow that spelt doom not only to her aspirations but also to her daughter’s dreams, now 25 months old. 

Diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia at birth, prison authorities have not only taken care of her daughter’s daily nutritional needs but also her health needs. 

It was a similar dilemma for Phyllis Munyiva, who is at the facility serving a one-year sentence for stealing. Her now seven-month-old son, who was also born at the correctional facility, has known no other home.

Their children are now among the about 277 children who are currently housed at correctional facilities around the country alongside their mothers who are servicing prison sentences. 

Their stories of transformation and renewed optimism would capture the audience's attention at the celebrations to mark this year’s World Breastfeeding Week.

For Phyllis, she was taken to prison while four months pregnant. It was while at the women's prison that she started her pre-natal clinics. 

“I was able to begin going for my pre-natal visits when I started my prison term. Before I was arrested and detained, I wasn’t able to go for the clinical check-ups.” She told the audience. 

For Phyllis, her incarceration ensured that she followed through her clinics until she delivered her son where the childcare policy, advanced by the State Department for Correctional Services for children of incarcerated mothers, has seen her baby well taken care of. 

Her story mirrors that of Afleen, who will leave prison walls this September with her bundle of joy.

The plight of Afleen and Phyllis resonated with the theme of this year’s World breast-feeding Week, “Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding support for all.”  aimed at highlighting the importance of breastfeeding with a focus on mothers in the most vulnerable positions such as those incarcerated in correctional institutions and those with disabilities.

For them, being at the Lang’ata women's prison ensured they observed exclusive breastfeeding for their babies, an undertaking that they could not have followed if they were outside prison walls.

The celebrations, which saw stakeholders congregate at the Lang’ata women's prison, also highlighted the challenge of mental health and the correlation between breastfeeding and mental health including anxiety and depression, experienced by not only those in correctional institutions but also those suffering from post-partum depression.

While lauding the initiative, Deputy Director General of Health at the Ministry of Health Dr. Sultani Matendechero said there was a need to take decisive actions to support breastfeeding.

‘’As we celebrate World Breastfeeding Week, let us all commit to actions that will close the gap in breastfeeding. This is a collective responsibility for government agencies, healthcare providers, community leaders and all stakeholders. We must work together to ensure every mother can breastfeed if she chooses to and every child can receive the best start in life,” he said.

Held in the first week of August every year, the campaign celebrates breastfeeding mums in all their diversity, throughout their breastfeeding journeys, while showcasing the ways families, societies, communities and health workers can have the back of every breastfeeding mum.