Breastfeeding Advocacy Toolkit

Publications

Build your knowledge base with a comprehensive set of information and tools for breastfeeding advocates.

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Countering Industry Arguments Against Code Implementation: Evidence and Rights-Based Responses

UNICEF

2024

Countering Industry Arguments Against Code Implementation: Evidence and Rights-Based Responses

UNICEF

Guidance for Advocates of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes. This resource for policymakers and breastfeeding advocates presents the 36 most common arguments the baby food industry uses to oppose Code legislation, alongside responses and counter-arguments based in scientific evidence and international human rights law. When countries begin to implement Code legislation, baby food industry actors fight back with a predictable set of arguments. These misleading claims — presented as valid concerns, even though they lack legal merit — can delay Code implementation and put protections for families and babies on hold while policymakers work to understand and track down the facts. This easy-to-navigate document allows you to click on exactly the argument you want to research or understand and find a response clearly documented with the relevant scientific evidence and human rights implications. With this comprehensive resource, policymakers and advocates will be well-equipped to facilitate Code implementation and effectively counter industry opposition.

HOW NESTLÉ GETS CHILDREN HOOKED ON SUGAR IN LOWER-INCOME COUNTRIES

IBFAN - Public Eye

2024

HOW NESTLÉ GETS CHILDREN HOOKED ON SUGAR IN LOWER-INCOME COUNTRIES

IBFAN - Public Eye

Nestlé’s leading baby-food brands, promoted in low- and middle-income countries as healthy and key to supporting young children’s development, contain high levels of added sugar In Switzerland, where Nestlé is headquartered, such products are sold with no added sugar. These are the main findings of a new investigation by Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), which shed light on Nestlé’s hypocrisy and the deceptive marketing strategies deployed by the Swiss food giant. Two of the best-selling baby-food brands marketed by Nestlé in low- and middle-income countries contain high levels of added sugar, while such products are sugar free in its home country, Switzerland. These are the key findings of an investigation by Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN). On the eve of its Annual General Meeting, pressure mounts on Nestlé to put an end to this unjustifiable and harmful double standard, which contributes to the explosive rise of obesity and leads children to develop a life-long preference for sugary products. Fifty years on from the start of the infant formula scandal, Nestlé claims to have learned from the past while doing everything it can to keep its world leadership in infant and young child nutrition. The food giant controls 20 percent of the baby-food market, valued at nearly $70 billion. With more than $2.5 billion in world sales in 2022, Cerelac and Nido are some of Nestlé’s best-selling baby-food brands in low- and middle-income countries. The multinational aggressively advertises these products as essential to children’s healthy development in its main markets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Marketing of breast-milk substitutes: national implementation of the International Code, status report 2024

WHO/Unicef/IBFAN

2024

Marketing of breast-milk substitutes: national implementation of the International Code, status report 2024

WHO/Unicef/IBFAN

This report provides updated information on the status of implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (BMS) and subsequent relevant World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions (collectively referred to as “the Code”) in countries. It presents the legal status of the Code, including the extent to which the provisions of the Code have been incorporated in national legal measures. The report examines further the processes countries use to monitor and enforce compliance with Code laws. The report also provides case-studies from a few countries on their legislative processes, highlighting examples of interference from manufacturers and distributors of breast-milk substitutes in efforts to weaken and delay Code implementation. WHO TEAM Food & Nutrition Action in Health Systems (AHS), Nutrition and Food Safety (NFS) EDITORS World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) NUMBER OF PAGES 102 REFERENCE NUMBERS ISBN: 978-92-4-009448-2

Restricting digital marketing in the context of tobacco, alcohol, food and beverages, and breast-milk substitutes: existing approaches and policy options

WHO

2024

Restricting digital marketing in the context of tobacco, alcohol, food and beverages, and breast-milk substitutes: existing approaches and policy options

WHO

WHO has long recommended marketing restrictions in the contexts of tobacco and nicotine products, alcoholic beverages, foods and beverages with respect to children, and breastmilk substitutes. But the question of how to implement these recommendations has become more complex as digital media has grown and large online platforms have centered their businesses around advertising, and specifically around targeting of advertising to consumers based on their online activity or personal data they have shared. As a response to these challenges, this technical product examines how restrictions on digital marketing are implemented by Member States as part of broader marketing restrictions, describes current challenges specific to digital marketing and provides policy options and approaches that Member States can adopt to strengthen the design and implementation of restrictions.

Exposição de mulheres grávidas e mães portuguesas ao marketing digital de substitutos de leite materno e produtos para alimentação complementar: estudo piloto da ferramenta CLICK da OMS Europa

Direção-Geral da Saúde

2024

Exposição de mulheres grávidas e mães portuguesas ao marketing digital de substitutos de leite materno e produtos para alimentação complementar: estudo piloto da ferramenta CLICK da OMS Europa

Direção-Geral da Saúde

Pilot study of the WHO Europe on Digital Marketing *Portuguese study*

WHO Guideline for complementary feeding of infants and young children 6-23 months of age

WHO

2023

WHO Guideline for complementary feeding of infants and young children 6-23 months of age

WHO

Complementary feeding, defined as the process of providing foods in addition to milk when breast milk or milk formula alone are no longer adequate to meet nutritional requirements, generally starts at age 6 months and continues until 23 months of age. This is a developmental period when it is critical for children to learn to accept healthy foods and beverages and establish long-term dietary patterns. It also coincides with the peak period for risk of growth faltering and nutrient deficiencies. This guideline provides global, normative evidence-based recommendations on complementary feeding of infants and young children 6–23 months of age living in low, middle- and high-income countries. It considers the needs of both breastfed and non-breastfed children. The guideline supersedes the earlier Guiding Principles for Complementary Feeding of the Breastfed Child and Guiding principles for feeding non-breastfed children 6-24 months of age. The recommendations in the guideline are intended for a wide audience, including policy-makers, and technical and programme staff at government institutions and organizations involved in the design, implementation and scaling of programmes for infant and young child feeding. The guideline may also be used by caregivers, health-care professionals, clinicians, academic and research institutions, and training institutions.

Protecting Infant and Young Child Nutrition from Industry Interference and Conflicts of Interest

Unicef

2023

Protecting Infant and Young Child Nutrition from Industry Interference and Conflicts of Interest

Unicef

The baby food industry's interference in policy-making and implementation processes, and the conflicts of interest this creates in health care systems, have limited progress on Code implementation. This clear guide explains the often-hidden processes at work and serves as a call to action for health authorities, health care workers, and governments. Organization UNICEF Publication date 2023 Language English

Effective regulatory frameworks for ending inappropriate marketing of breast-milk substitutes and foods for infants and young children in the WHO European Region

WHO

2022

Effective regulatory frameworks for ending inappropriate marketing of breast-milk substitutes and foods for infants and young children in the WHO European Region

WHO

This Policy Brief is intended to guide Member States in the WHO European Region as they embark on the vital task of safeguarding parents and caregivers from all forms of promotion of breastmilk substitutes (‎BMS)‎ and the inappropriate promotion of foods for infants and young children (‎FIYC)‎. Such promotion undermines optimal infant and young child feeding practices, including breastfeeding and safe and appropriate complementary feeding, placing a child’s survival, growth and development at risk. It can also contribute to the growing public health problem of childhood overweight and obesity, which can lead not only to premature mortality from non-communicable diseases (‎NCDs)‎, but also to adverse health outcomes throughout life. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the number of children under five with overweight has increased from 1.6 million in 2000 to 4.5 million in 2016. United Nations human rights experts have reminded States of their obligations under human rights treaties to “take all necessary measures to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding, and end the inappropriate promotion of breast-milk substitutes and other foods intended for infants and young children up to the age of 3 years”. The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent Resolutions by the World Health Assembly, along with the 2016 WHO Guidance on ending the inappropriate promotion of foods for infants and young children provide the regulatory framework to put an end to unethical marketing practices. This policy brief provides step-by-step guidance on how to review the current level of national implementation of these instruments and then proceed to strengthen measures and establish effective systems for implementation and enforcement. This includes the use of a “model law” developed specifically for the Region to demonstrate what effective regulations should look like.

Scope and impact of digital marketing strategies for promoting breastmilk substitutes

WHO

2022

Scope and impact of digital marketing strategies for promoting breastmilk substitutes

WHO

Digital technologies are increasingly used for marketing food products throughout the world. Although the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes specifies that there should be no advertising or other form of promotion of breast-milk substitutes to the general public, the Code does not directly address many of the specific strategies used in digital marketing. In November 2020, the World Health Assembly requested that WHO review current evidence and prepare a report describing how digital marketing strategies are being used for the promotion of breast-milk substitutes. This report examines in greater depth the scope, techniques and impact of digital marketing strategies for the promotion of breast-milk substitutes.

How the marketing of formula milk influences our decisions on infant feeding

WHO/Unicef

2022

How the marketing of formula milk influences our decisions on infant feeding

WHO/Unicef

This report summarizes the findings of a multicountry study examining the impact of formula milk marketing on infant feeding decisions and practices, which was commissioned by WHO and UNICEF. The research study – the largest of its kind to date – draws on the experiences of over 8500 women and more than 300 health professionals across eight countries (Bangladesh, China, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Viet Nam). It exposes the aggressive marketing practices used by the formula milk industry, highlights the impacts on women and families, and outlines opportunities for action. News release: More than half of parents and pregnant women exposed to aggressive formula milk marketing – WHO, UNICEF

Marketing of breast-milk substitutes: national implementation of the International Code, status report 2020

WHO/unicef/IBFAN

2020

Marketing of breast-milk substitutes: national implementation of the International Code, status report 2020

WHO/unicef/IBFAN

This report provides updated information on the status of implementing the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and subsequent relevant World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions (“the Code”) in countries. It presents the legal status of the Code, including to what extent its provisions have been incorporated in national legal measures. Given the important role of health workers in protecting pregnant women, mothers and their infants from the inappropriate promotion of BMS, the 2020 report highlights specific provisions considered to be particularly instrumental in addressing and eliminating the promotion of breast-milk substitutes, feeding bottles and teats to health workers and in health facilities, and provides an extensive analysis of legal measures taken to prohibit promotion to health workers and in health facilities. In this report, a new scoring algorithm was used to classify countries’ legislation. The scoring methods allow for standardized classification of countries following agreed criteria among WHO, UNICEF, and IBFAN. The legal measures for all countries have been analyzed based on an expanded, standardized checklist with an algorithm to facilitate a systematic and objective classification of countries according to their alignment with the Code. Since 2018, progress has continued to be made on the promotion and protection of breastfeeding, both globally and in countries. More robust measures to curb continuing harmful marketing practices by manufacturers and distributors of BMS have been adopted in several countries.

The Code Handbook

IBFAN

2005

The Code Handbook

IBFAN

This Handbook is written to aid governments in developing measures to implement the World Health Organization International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk1 Substitutes (International Code), which was adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May 1981. At that time the World Health Assembly was concerned about the aggressive and often inappropriate marketing of breastmilk substitutes, which was contributing to an alarming decline in breastfeeding and the associated increased malnutrition, morbidity and mortality among infants and young children worldwide.

International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes

WHO

1981

International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes

WHO

The World Health Organization and UNICEF have for many years emphasized the importance of maintaining the practice of breastfeeding, and of reviving the practice where it is in decline, as a way to improve the health and nutrition of infants and young children. A variety of factors influence the prevalence and duration of breastfeeding. The 27th World Health Assembly in 1974 noted the general decline in breastfeeding related to different factors including the production of manufactured breast-milk substitutes and urged Member countries to review sales promotion activities on baby foods and to introduce appropriate remedial measures, including advertisement codes and legislation where necessary. The 33rd World Health Assembly, en May 1980, endorsed in their entirety the statement and recommendations agreed by consensus at this joint WHO/UNICEF meeting and made particular mention of the recommendation that "There should be an international code of marketing of infant formula and other products used as breast-milk substitutes". In May 1981 the Health Assembly debated the issue after it had been introduced by the representative of the Executive Board. It adopted the code, as proposed, on 21 May by 118 votes.

Publications

Build your knowledge base with a comprehensive set of information and tools for breastfeeding advocates.

Countering Industry Arguments Against Code Implementation: Evidence and Rights-Based Responses

HOW NESTLÉ GETS CHILDREN HOOKED ON SUGAR IN LOWER-INCOME COUNTRIES

Marketing of breast-milk substitutes: national implementation of the International Code, status report 2024

Restricting digital marketing in the context of tobacco, alcohol, food and beverages, and breast-milk substitutes: existing approaches and policy options

Exposição de mulheres grávidas e mães portuguesas ao marketing digital de substitutos de leite materno e produtos para alimentação complementar: estudo piloto da ferramenta CLICK da OMS Europa

WHO Guideline for complementary feeding of infants and young children 6-23 months of age

Protecting Infant and Young Child Nutrition from Industry Interference and Conflicts of Interest

Effective regulatory frameworks for ending inappropriate marketing of breast-milk substitutes and foods for infants and young children in the WHO European Region

Scope and impact of digital marketing strategies for promoting breastmilk substitutes

How the marketing of formula milk influences our decisions on infant feeding

Marketing of breast-milk substitutes: national implementation of the International Code, status report 2020

The Code Handbook

International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes

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