Multi-stakeholderism

Multistakeholderism. Dialogue or engineering of consent? Opportunities and risks of talking to industry by Judith Richter

Interference in public health policy :

Baby food and Tobacco tactics.

World Nutrition Issue.  Vol 8 No 2 (2017)

Abstract

Despite countries’ commitments to improve nutrition, starting with the protection of breastfeeding, aggressive marketing of breastmilk substitutes continues to promote their indiscriminate use. The baby food industry appears to use similar interference tactics as the tobacco industry to influence public health, promote their products and expand their markets.

Learning from the tobacco experience, this paper assesses whether the baby food industry uses any of the six tobacco industry interference tactics recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and summarizes examples of documented evidence.

We conclude that the baby food industry uses all six tactics: (1) manoeuvring to hijack the political and legislative process; (2) exaggerating economic importance of the industry; (3) manipulating public opinion to gain appearance of respectability; (4) fabricating support through front groups; (5) discrediting proven science; and (6) intimidating governments with litigation. There is abundant anecdotal evidence. Published evidence is limited and varies by tactic. Examples of interference are provided for the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Turkey, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Mexico and the United Kingdom, and most for Tactic 3.

Interference in public health policies shows commonalities between the two industries. The tobacco control movement offers a useful framework for classifying and addressing interference with public policy by the baby food industry. Revealing the depth and extent of interference used by the baby food industry is critical if countries are to counter interference and implement commitments to improve nutrition.

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Interviews in the Journal of Human Lactation (JHL)

Interviews by , IBCLC, BSEd with key IBFAN figures:

NEW!  Leah Margulies:   The Power of Consumer Activism: An Interview With Leah Margulies1 [Part 1].  An Interview with Leah Margulies (part 1)

The Power of Consumer Activism From the Kennedy Hearings to the International Code: An Interview With Leah Margulies (Part II). An Interview with Leah Margulies (part 2)

Marina Ferreira Rea: A Militant Doctor active in the Endless Fight for Breastfeeding
as a Human Right – A Luta Continua!  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08903344211057122

Patti Rundall: A Passionate Activist, Full of Energy https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/GJWE24XFBNER48ADTTNB/full  and permanent link for institutional Access:   https://doi.org/10.1177/0890334420971552 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0890334420971552?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed

Annelies Allain: Pioneer of the International Code of Marketing of  Breastmilk Substitutes https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0890334418812075 2018 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0890334418812075?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed

Lida Lhotska and Judith Richter 2019: Protecting breastfeeding from conflicts of interest https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0890334419885859  December 9, 2019 Research Article , BSc, PhD, , MSc, MA, PhD

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0890334419885859?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed  Still open!

Gabrielle Palmer 2021 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08903344211015624?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed

Interviews by others:

Doug Johnson:  Advocacy, Strategy and Tactics Used to Confront Corporate Power: The Nestlé Boycott and International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0890334420955158 open

David Clark 2020: Defender of Human Rights and Breastfeeding
and David Lawson Clark, LLB [HONS] interviewed by Laurence M. Grummer-Strawn, MPA, MA, Ph  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0890334420902685

Felicity Savage King:2017  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0890334417726321

Larry 2017 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0890334417699393

Margaret Kyenkya 2020 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0890334420926951

History of IBFAN: Annelies https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08903344211041374

News of IBFAN: Betty Sterken 4 times a year

Doug Johnson Reprint of 1986  article  (2020). Confronting corporate power: Strategies and phases of the Nestle Boycott. Journal of Human Lactation, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0890334420964752  (This article was previously published in Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy, © 1986; 8: 323-344 by JAI Press Inc.)

Reply Annelies Allain  https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08903344211049396

Reply Doug https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/08903344211038930

Codex.  CCFL  Advocacy at Work During the Codex Committee on Food Labelling Meeting https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08903344211057083

 

Commercial Determinants of Health

Executive Summary

Commercial actors can contribute positively to health and society, and many do, providing essential products and services. However, a substantial group of commercial actors are escalating avoidable levels of ill health, planetary damage, and inequity—the commercial determinants of health. While policy solutions are available, they are not currently being implemented, and the costs of harm caused by some products and practices are coming at a great cost to individuals and society.

A new Lancet Series on the commercial determinants of health provides recommendations and frameworks to foster a better understanding of the diversity of the commercial world, potential pathways to health harms or benefits, and the need for regulatory action and investment in enterprises that advance health, wellbeing, equity, and society.

Editorial

The Lancet
The Lancet, Vol. 401, No. 10383
Published: March 23, 2023

Series

Anna B Gilmore, Alice Fabbri, Fran Baum, Adam Bertscher, Krista Bondy, Ha-Joon Chang, Sandro Demaio, Agnes Erzse, Nicholas Freudenberg, Sharon Friel, Karen J Hofman, Paula Johns, Safura Abdool Karim, Jennifer Lacy-Nichols, Camila Maranha Paes de Carvalho, Robert Marten, Martin McKee, Mark Petticrew, Lindsay Robertson, Viroj Tangcharoensathien, Anne Marie Thow
The Lancet, Vol. 401, No. 10383
Published: March 23, 2023
Jennifer Lacy-Nichols, Sulakshana Nandi, Melissa Mialon, Jim McCambridge, Kelley Lee, Alexandra Jones, Anna B Gilmore, Sandro Galea, Cassandra de Lacy-Vawdon, Camila Maranha Paes de Carvalho, Fran Baum, Rob Moodie
The Lancet, Vol. 401, No. 10383
Published: March 23, 2023

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Articles on Codex

Some interesting articles that  might explain the struggle we had getting Codex on the agenda of WHA75:  

here is our press release:Global trading standards must follow WHO in  restricting harmful marketing

Industry Lobbying on WHO Overshadowing Public Health Policy, Researchers Suggest

Corporate Dollars Elevate Commercial Interests Over Health Expertise.  by  May 18, 2022

Baker et al. Globalization and Health (2021) 17:58. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-021-00708-1

Codex. Advocacy at Work During the Codex Committee on Food Labelling Meeting https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08903344211057083

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Articles on Ultra-Processed Food

The  industry side of the argument: https://www.wired.com/story/processed-food-health-meat-substitute-environment/ from an online journal called WIRED,

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Money Control: The Bournvita Debate: Is shooting the messenger helpful?

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/opinion/the-bournvita-debate-is-shooting-the-messenger-helpful-10454421.html

Premature Deaths Attributable to the Consumption of Ultraprocessed Foods in Brazil 

American Journal of Preventive Medicine  10.1016/j.amepre.2022.08.013 2022) 

This New study shows that increased consumption of UPF was associated with more than 10% of all-cause premature, preventable deaths in Brazil in 2019, although Brazilians consume far less of these products than countries with high incomes. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/970082.


2022 Oct 5;379:e071767.   doi: 10.1136/bmj-2022-071767.

Maternal consumption of ultra-processed foods and subsequent risk of offspring overweight or obesity: results from three prospective cohort studies

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36198411/

The trouble with ultra-processed foods

BMJ 2022; 378 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o1972 (Published 31 August 2022)Cite this as: BMJ 2022;378:o1972https://www.bmj.com/content/378/bmj.o1972

  1. Carlos A Monteiro, professor of public health nutrition1,
  2. Geoffrey Cannon, senior research fellow2

 

Contaminants and Residues in baby feeding products

IBFAN ABBOTT Q&A 

IBFAN GIFA Contaminants and Residue website

Environment chemical and  microbiological contamination  of infant feeding products

Green Feeding – action  on climate change

Climate Change and Health

Valerie McClain’s Blogspot: Humanmilkpatentpending

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Infant feeding in Emergency Tools 

IYCF-E Toolkit: https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/toolkits/iycf-e-toolkit/

IYCF-E Curriculum: https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/toolkits/curriculum/ (English and Spanish versions are currently uploaded.  French will be uploaded very soon.  Stay tuned!)

IYCF-E Hub: https://iycfehub.org/ 

And the newly released report:

Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies: Ten Years of Progress https://iycfehub.org/document/infant-and-young-child-feeding-in-emergencies-ten-years-of-progress/ 

 

The Global Operational Guidance for Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies is now available in Hindi, the official language in India and spoken as the mother tongue in 7 countries, reaching 572 million people. Below is a tile that you can use for sharing.   The guidance and our other resources can be found here: https://www.ennonline.net/ife/iferesourcesoutputs

 Operational Guidance V3 OCT 2017

The GNC Technical Alliance and IFE Core Group is planning to conduct Webinar: 

“Communicating IYCF-E during an emergency”

‘’ Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies and the role of Media: Getting the right message across’’

The IFE Core Group is currently collecting examples of communication and/or media initiatives that are related to Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies. We are seeking suggestions, recommendations, and tested experiences from colleagues working in humanitarian emergencies/crises and fragile contexts who have experienced or have observed how communication and media are used in relation to infant and young child feeding in emergencies (IYCF–E).  

Media and communication colleagues have a great role in raising attention and awareness around the needs and concerns of populations affected by emergencies. To provide your inputs please fill in the questionnaire in the link below.

Please complete the questionnaire:

In English hereIn Spanish here In French hereIn Arabic here

ENDING INAPPROPRIATE MARKETING OF BREAST-MILK SUBSTITUTES AND FOODS FOR INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN

PDF

The WHO European Region: protecting the most vulnerable

Coinciding with the launch of the new WHO–UNICEF global report:  “How marketing of formula milk influences our decisions on infant feeding” IBFAN welcomes this an important new Policy Brief produced by the WHO Regional Office for Europe. The Policy Brief includes a “model law”,  developed specifically for the Region,  to demonstrate what effective regulations should look like.

The aggressive formula milk marketing is especially worrying for the WHO European Region. Of all the WHO regions, it has the lowest levels of exclusive breastfeeding for children. The new WHO data show that 84% of pregnant and postpartum women in the United Kingdom are exposed to formula milk marketing.

 

 

Hey, IFE Core Group! Check out Aashima Garg, interviewed by Eilise Brennon, on the latest ENN podcast on CFE. https://www.ennonline.net/mediahub/podcast/fex68specialseriescfe
Attached is a graphic tile for use in sharing with your networks.
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Infant milks marketed as foods for special medical purposes (FSMP): The case for regulatory reform to protect infant health – December 2022
This report sets out the case for the strengthening of UK laws on infant milks marketed as foods for special medical purposes (iFSMP). It outlines the serious issues arising from shortcomings in the current law and its poor enforcement, and the exploitation and misuse of this regulatory category by commercial milk formula companies…”
 
Supporting families with infants under 12 months experiencing food insecurity – October 2022
This report provides recommendations for local authorities operating food banks and includes the following linkages with emergency planning: “All Local Authorities should have an infant feeding strategy produced in partnership with the Local Maternity System or Integrated Care Partnership (or equivalent) which can be cross-referenced to the emergency preparedness plan.” This
guidance document was produced by the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative, First Steps Nutrition Trust and the National Infant Feeding Network (NIFN) and replaces the Baby Feeding Law Group guidance on formula in food banks.
Both are available here.

Bill Gates

How Bill Gates and partners used their clout to control the global Covid response — with little oversight

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/14/global-covid-pandemic-response-bill-gates-partners-00053969

Four health organizations, working closely together, spent almost $10 billion on responding to Covid across the world. But they lacked the scrutiny of governments, and fell short of their own goals, a POLITICO and WELT investigation found. When Covid-19 struck, the governments of the world weren’t prepared. From America to Europe to Asia, they veered from minimizing the threat to closing their borders in ill-fated attempts to quell a viral spread that soon enveloped the world. While the most powerful nations looked inward, four non-governmental global health organizations began making plans for a life-or-death struggle against a virus that would know no boundaries.

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Articles on Maternity Protection

The Conversation

Maternity protection for female non-standard workers in South Africa: the case of domestic workers

MATERNITY LEGISLATION

IBFAN Position Paper on Maternity Protection at Work.

Thanks to Elisabeth Sterken  and Maryse Arendt for this work.

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MONITORING REPORTS


STOP PRESS: Questioning the ethics of international research on formula milk supplementation in low-income African countries  Doherty et al. BMJ Global Health.


Global evidence of persistent violations of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes: A systematic scoping review


 

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THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY

Taking action now, worldwide – and from birth. First we need to talk about:

  • global heating – not global warming
  • climate emergency – not climate change

The UK and Ireland officially declared an environment and climate emergency in May 2019, followed by Canada declaring a national climate emergency in June 2019.

CLICK HERE for the carbon footprint report.

CLICK HERE FOR GREENFEEDING AND OTHER BRIEFINGS

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CORPORATIONS IN SCHOOLS

Tackling Obesity Schools Feb 12

Seeing through the Spin (Education pack)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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WHISTLEBLOWERS

Whistleblowing FSM

DHA Briefing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


WHO and UNICEF advice on breastfeeding and coronavirus

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INFANT MILKS – FIRST STEPS NUTRITION

First Steps Nutrition Trust Briefings

Information for Food Banks, supporting pregnant women and families with infants.