As part of the Golden August celebrations, on August 22nd, we held a hybrid event in Brasília to discuss effective strategies for regulating the digital marketing of commercial infant formulas. The event was organized in partnership with the Brazilian Ministry of Health, Fiocruz, PAHO, and IBFAN Brazil. The meeting was held in the Fiocruz auditorium and streamed via Zoom to Colansa members.
During the meeting, monitoring challenges were highlighted, which continue to compromise adequate early childhood feeding practices. Following the recent achievement of the World Health Assembly with the approval of resolution WHA 78.18, the event sought to identify ways to strengthen surveillance and enforcement of legislation regulating the digital marketing of breast milk substitutes through the exchange of experiences and potential solutions.
Lawrence Grummer-Strawn (WHO) presented the main points of AMS Resolution No. 78.18 and recommendations on regulatory measures to restrict digital marketing. The process of drafting the Resolution by Brazil and Mexico was discussed by Sônia Venâncio, General Coordinator of Child, Adolescent, and Youth Health Care in the Department of Comprehensive Care Management of the Secretariat of Primary Health Care. Ramiro López-Elizalde, Undersecretary of Health of the Government of Mexico, provided an overview of the legal measures, including the regulation and monitoring of advertising of breast milk substitutes on digital media and social networks. The first part of the seminar also featured Leo Nederveen (PAHO/HQ) demonstrating measures that require countries’ attention to incorporate the resolution.
In the second part of the event, moderated by Colansa’s executive director, Elisa Mendonça, Fiocruz representative Cristiano Boccolini presented DIGI-CODE’s experience in monitoring digital marketing and the impacts of algorithms on families.
The event also featured working groups.