Proposed by Brazil and Mexico and supported by 20 countries, the resolution seeks to regulate online promotion of infant formula, pacifiers, and baby bottles
On Monday (May 26), the member countries of the World Health Assembly approved a resolution that seeks to curb digital advertising for products that compete with breastfeeding, such as infant formula, nipples, pacifiers, and baby bottles. The resolution was proposed by Brazil and Mexico and supported by Norway.
The Latin American and Caribbean Nutrition and Health Community of Practice (Colansa) and regional partners, such as the International Network for the Protection of the Right to Breastfeed (Ibfan), will work together to raise awareness among health ministries in Latin America and the Caribbean to make this milestone possible.
“This approval is very important as a step toward ensuring environments that facilitate healthy food choices, in this specific case, that protect breastfeeding. It is also very significant because we now have a precedent for regulating other unhealthy products, and we advocate that this be applied to ultra-processed foods,” said Laís Amaral, coordinator of the Healthy and Sustainable Food Program at Idec. Idec is part of Colansa.
Last Wednesday (21), Brazil’s Minister of Health, Alexandre Padilha, acknowledged the urgency of this regulation during the event “Monitoring Digital Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes: Open Data and Global Responsibility.” This meeting took place as a side event to the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. The event was organized by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, Colansa, UNICEF, and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) and was supported by the Global Alliance for Healthy Nutrition for Children and Adolescents (ALSANNA), the International Network for the Defense of the Right to Breastfeed (Ibfan), the World Obesity Federation (WOF), the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), and the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA).
“Recognizing the urgency of regulation in light of the new and complex dynamics of digital marketing, the Brazilian government has taken a leadership role by working closely with Mexico to carry out a comprehensive, transparent, and evidence-based process to draft a robust resolution on the regulation of digital marketing of breast milk substitutes,” said Padilha.
The text of the resolution reinforces the defense of tools that facilitate the monitoring and regulation of these practices, in addition to the dissemination of good practices for the protection of breastfeeding. A study conducted by Fiocruz, which supported the resolution, revealed that around 80% of mothers were exposed to some form of advertising for infant formula and other breast milk substitutes worldwide, and that all countries surveyed showed some level of online advertising for these products.
History
On February 10 of this year, the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the proposed resolution, entitled Regulation of digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes, for consideration by the 78th World Health Assembly.
The approval of the proposal came after three months of multilateral and bilateral negotiations led by Brazil, which culminated in the formalization of the proposed resolution by 20 co-sponsoring countries. In addition to Brazil, Norway, and Mexico, the list includes Armenia, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Iraq, Lesotho, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, and Uruguay.
Once approved by the Assembly, the resolution will be adopted as a benchmark by all member countries of the World Health Organization.
Side event
The side event organized by Colansa on May 21st in Geneva was a success: “Monitoring Digital Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes: Open Data & Global Accountability”.
Access the recording in English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvtuaPQbUtE
