21 May 2002: IBFAN/CI Presentation to the 55th World Health Assembly - infant feeding

Agenda Item 13.10, Infant and young child nutrition
Statement by Annelies Allain - 17 May 2002

Mr Chair, Madame Director General, Distinguished Delegates to the Assembly,
We welcome this opportunity to take the floor on behalf of Consumers International, which, in 1979, was
one of the founding members of the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN). As a global network, IBFAN is resolutely independent and steadily growing in numbers; there are now almost two hundred
member groups in over a hundred countries.

The stakes for breastfeeding remain very high in all countries. Just last week, there were headlines reporting that breastfed children are not just healthier but SMARTER than those fed by bottle. We have long known
about the higher IQ but and also that in all countries, breastfeeding can be a matter of life and death for infants as it was recently for a 5-day old Belgian baby who would have lived if he had not been bottle fed.

The key role of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent Resolutions in protecting infant health world-wide has been highlighted once again by recent warnings concerning the contamination by Enterobacter Sakazakii of powdered infant formulas. This caused the fatal case in Belgium in March and illustrates the risks of artificial feeding in all countries and settings. These cases show the urgent need for adequate labelling which gives clear warnings about the risks and for independent checking on product safety.

The Global Strategy (just adopted) , like the Code and its Resolutions, is also universal.

IBFAN is quite prepared to join WHO in this effort, and to throw its weight behind the Global Strategy, but we need to know who else will be involved in the implementation. Involvement by the commercial sector is most likely to create conflicts of interest and may undermine everything the Strategy tries to achieve.

In the current euphoria over partnerships with the private sector, some of you may wonder about IBFAN´s insistence on keeping industry out of breastfeeding, about keeping commercial companies out of all places where infant feeding decisions are made. But we are consistent with WHA Resolution 49.15 of 1996 and we have good reasons to be wary. We have seen too many cases of industry interferenc. We have seen the
Nestle letters to the Ministers of Health lobbying to reverse the effect of the Code. We have seen the PR handed out in Latin America, stating the Code is fully complied with. We know that is not true. We have seen the information to mothers with conflicting messages by companies like Nutricia. Partnership in the light of these cases is like inviting the fox to the chicken coop. There can be no partnership in policy making.

We are concerned, that the Strategy could be seriously eroded if its implementation becomes privatized. We are pleased that the Global Strategy highlights (para 44) one simple role for the for-profit sector, and that is that "their conduct at every level conform to the Code, subsequent Health Assembly Resolutions, and national measures that have been adopted to give effect to both". We ask industry to fully respect this in order to avoid conflicts of interest between commercial objectives and the public health agenda.

Finally, Mrs Chair, for over twenty years, IBFAN has worked with WHO and governments to protect, promote and support breastfeeding by training in drafting, by monitoring and advocating Code implementation;
drawing public attention to activities which are incompatible with the Code and Resolutions. Indeed, IBFAN’s contribution to Code implementation and monitoring, was summed up by the Director General when she attended IBFANs celebration last year marking the Code’s 20th anniversary: "without the tireless efforts of groups like yours," she said, "the Code might well never have been developed, or at least not as effectively developed as it has been... …without IBFAN’s help and encouragement, governments would not have gone as far as they have in implementing the Code". While it is good to hear those words, we also ask the Assembly to note that doc A55/14 which is the progress report on the Code now only has just one vague paragraph on Code implementation and this does not do justice to the efforts of Member States or those of IBFAN.

We hope that the Global Strategy and our contributions to the debate will ultimately serve the health
and well-being of women and children.
Thank you for giving us the floor.