Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland
Director General World Health Organization
CH-1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland

29 March, 2000

Dear Dr. Bruntland,

I am sorry that I did not have the opportunity to meet you during the recent Technical Consultation on Infant and Young Child Feeding. I am also sorry to have to write this letter, but I feel the conduct of your organization regarding the preparation of my background paper for this meeting cannot go without comment.

In November 1999, WHO invited me to prepare a background paper on "How can we strengthen the implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes". In accordance with the set schedule, two weeks before the Technical Consultation I submitted the second draft, which had been revised after comments from both UNICEF and WHO. I received no additional comments before my departure for Geneva and expected that, according to the terms of reference, this draft would be circulated among the participants prior to my presentation, scheduled for Wednesday morning, 15 March.

On Monday morning, 13 March, the background paper on the International Code was missing from the participantsâ background file. I learned on Sunday night, that my second draft had been revised by WHO staff and was not yet approved for distribution to the participants. I did not receive the draft that was ultimately distributed until the afternoon of 14 March.

I was stunned over the amount of material that had been deleted from the paper as well as by some of the changes that had been made. As a result, I asked to have my name removed from the paper, for which I could no longer responsibly claim authorship. I was put in a position of preparing for a presentation that would take place the following morning and the participants had little time to read the paper in advance.

This last minute unilateral editing was in conflict with the terms of reference which state that WHO may revise the work "after consultation" with the author. What is most disappointing, however, is that the revised paper no longer reflected the assigned topic -- "Strengthening the implementation" of the Code. One of the major obstacles identified in the paper relates to the conduct of manufacturers and distributors of breastmilk substitutes with respect to their marketing practices. All relevant explanations were cut from the paper. Other discussions deleted include the sometimes hindering role of health professionals and professional associations as well as constructive criticism of WHO and how it could strengthen its own role in Code implementation. If the experts invited to this meeting were to seriously debate how implementation of the International Code can be strengthened, WHO should not have attempted to hide such topics but should have encouraged open discussion.

There were numerous other aspects of this technical consultation that were less than ideal, but I confine this letter to my personal situation. I regret after many hours of work spent in preparation of the paper that I was not able, in the end to claim authorship. I wish you all the best in going forward with developing an effective global strategy for improving infant and young child feeding.

Sincerely,

Ellen J. Sokol

cc: Carol Bellamy, Executive Director, UNICEF
Authors of Background Papers for Technical Consultation