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Marketing of baby milk substitutes
A worldwide movement against the irresponsible promotion of breast milk substitutes has led to tougher regulation of marketing, which has saved many children’s lives.
The adoption of an international code on the marketing of breast milk substitutes by the World Health Assembly in 1981 was a major achievement after years of campaigning. Although not perfect, it improved breast feeding rates and set a powerful precedent for regulating international companies.
The marketing of breast milk substitutes can discourage breastfeeding in the developing world – with catastrophic results. It is often impossible in poor conditions to keep bottles and teats sterile, and mixing unsafe water with milk powder can lead to diarrhoea, the biggest killer of children worldwide.
Baby milk companies have targeted both health workers and mothers. Tactics have varied from advertising and misinformation, to sales representatives going into hospitals to promote their brands of baby milk, giving free or subsidised supplies to hospitals and maternity wards and even giving out free gifts to health workers.
While enforcing compliance with the code is still a challenge, ongoing campaigning and public scrutiny has kept the activities of powerful companies under the spotlight ever since. Some companies continue to exploit loopholes and behave unethically, but they now have to work much harder to demonstrate that they have changed their behaviour if they wish to win public trust.
