India, Laos and South Africa Reject Sponsorship and Gifts from Formula Companies

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life with continued breastfeeding and appropriate complementary foods to age 2 years could save the lives of 1.5 million children every year However, aggressive marketing by formula companies, which create not-for-profit Nutrition Institutes sponsoring medical seminars, workshops and research, continue to undermine efforts to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. The 1981 World Health Organization’s International Code of Marketing Breast Milk Substitutes (the Code) forbids advertising to the public or gifts to health workers but permits donations of educational materials. Many health workers are completely unaware of any conflict of interest. Furthermore there is a fine line between a gift and a free educational event in a luxury hotel. As Wright and Waterston point out such events “convey(s) an impression of the company as being ‘health giving’ even if their products may cause net harm to children’s health.”