Briefs

By TichaBizel-Bi Mafor, student on internship

Girl escapes rape

Audrey, 17, should be thankful to God that she was not raped last Wednesday. Invited by a friend to meet him at Carrefour Bastos in Yaounde on that fateful day, she was whisked off in a car to a destination she claims not to know. Without knowing where they were heading to she did not bother because her friend was among. They ordered for a bottle of whisky and coke. She agrees having drunk a limited quantity of whisky diluted with coke. After taking a sip of her drink she felt like going to the toilet and asked her friend to accompany her. On her return, she completed her drink and lost consciousness. Audrey beliefs drug was dropped in a glass while she was in the toilet. Luckily for her, her friend took her home save.

Man flogs his wife for theft

A man by name PartrickEssomba has accused his wife of stealing the sum of 250,000 FCFA from the bedroom of their AwaeEscalier home in Yaounde. According to Essomba, his wife stole the money because he refused to give her the 50,000 FCFA that she requested three days earlier to enable her solve some personal problems. Essomba says he suspected his wife had stolen the money when he noticed that the money he kept in their conjugal room had disappeared. Even though the wife denied ever taking the money, Essomba would not believe her. Disappointed and furious Essomba started raining deadly blows on his wife. It took the intervention of neighbours to save the woman’s life.

National Breast Feeding Day:

Breast milk is indispensible for babies - UNICEF

Cameroon commemorated last 1-7 August 2016 the National Breast Feeding Week organized since 1992 by the UNICEF and its partners. The week was set aside to sensitize the public on the importance of giving breast milk to new born babies.

According to France Begin, nutritional adviser at UNICEF, breast milk is the first vaccine for babies; it is also the first and best protection against diseases.

Begin explains that because new born babies constitute half the number of deaths among children below 5 years, breast milk is also considered a matter of life or death for babies.

                Besides the intimate mother-baby attachment that breast milk affords, it also provides nutritional substances vital for his growth and for protection against diseases, apart from being indispensable for the growth and development of the brain and nervous system of the new born.

                “Breast milk is recommended for both the rich and the poor without distinction,” says France Begin.

                However, despite the advantages elaborated above, some women still find it difficult to cultivate the habit of breast feeding their babies. UNICEF notes that in 2015 alone about 7 millions babies were deprived of breast milk when they were born.

                UNICEF recommends exclusive breast milk till the age of 6 months but adds that this can be accompanied with other meals till the age of 2 years.