156th WHO Executive Board Meeting Feb 3-11th

UPDATE ON THE DIGITAL MARKETING RESOLUTION

Note: A silence procedure, tacit consent or tacit acceptance procedure “he who is silent is taken to agree”, “silence implies/means consent”) is a way of formally adopting texts, often, but not exclusively, in an international political context.

IBFAN’s website. IBFAN STATEMENTS

Documents  LIVE WEBCAST  Participants

Preliminary Daily Timetable  Proposed resolutions

Executive Board  Chair and Officers

Statements by Non State Actors (NSAs)

IBFAN STATEMENTS

Agenda Item 24.2  Involvement of Non State Actors in WHO’s Governing Bodies.   

YouTube video. Read by Patti Rundall, Monday 3rd Feb.

As a critical friend of WHO for 47 years, IBFAN was key to the adoption of the world’s first consumer protection tool – a Code of Marketing and 20 Resolutions that are in law – to some extent – in over 100 countries. Despite fierce opposition from industry, these policies have saved millions of children’s lives.  IBFAN knows that the independence, integrity and trustworthiness of institutions such as WHO must be protected – to empower all governments to protect health in all fora – including in trade where IBFAN works to promote WHO policy.  No single country can do what WHO is constitutionally mandated to do. The call to increase assessed contributions is excellent. Please don’t forget to screen NSA collaboration and funding for Conflicts of Interest.

Item 6. Universal Health coverage

Read by: Anna Koronkiewicz-Wiorek. Wednesday around 10am CET)

IBFAN strongly supports the right to access to free and adequate healthcare. However, to be effective, strong conflicts of interest safeguards are needed to prevent health harming industries hijacking the process. Prevention is critical and starts with optimal early years feeding: breastfeeding and the avoidance of ultra-processed products.  Companies know exactly how to process raw ingredients to achieve sweetness while claiming products are healthy. They know that sweetness is addictive and sets up taste preferences in children.  For the new Codex baby foods standard – products often high in free sugars, please send health delegates to Codex so that WHO recommendations are followed.  Also that marketing legislation covers all products marketed for children, including plant-based formulas, bottles and teats

Other Agenda items IBFAN will address: infant feeding in emergencies and a Resolution, led by Brazil and Mexico,  to support WHO’s Guidance on Regulatory Measures aimed at restricting digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes. The zero draft Resolution is supported by Armenia, Bangladesh,  El Salvador, Panama, Peru, Sri-Lanka, Chile, Slovakia, Norway,  Vanuatu and Lesotho. IBFAN will remind MSs that there is no need for governments to expend significant resources to enforce every violation. The other actors in the digital supply chain have control over monitoring the content on their platforms and in many countries already do so for other regulated marketing practices and products such as pharmaceutical, tobacco, alcohol as well as intellectual property infringements etc. The approach set out in the WHO Guidance is not new or practically difficult to implement, but it is ready for Member States to implement as soon as possible.

The Resolution will be discussed under  Item 14. Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health. If approved by the 156th Executive Board (3-11th February 2025)  it will go forward to the 78th World Health Assembly (May 19- 27, 2025). (draft agenda)

IBFAN is also supporting a Resolution calling for an extension of the Nutrition targets.    For previous Blogs Click HERE and HERE 

Why a Resolution is needed and how it can be done/

Here is a summary of some important points raised by UNICEF during the webinar:

• The core of the prohibited marketing practices of the Code now exist in the digital space.
• Digital marketing has more actors across the supply chain (social media platforms, online advertisers, internet service providers etc – not just product producers and distributors.
• So governments must articulate specific implementation and enforcement mechanisms into their legislation, specifying legal duties of compliance to the appropriate actors.
• There is no need for governments to expend significant resources to enforce every violation. The other actors in the digital supply chain have control over monitoring the content on their platforms and in many countries already do so for other regulated marketing practices and products such as pharmaceutical, tobacco, alcohol as well as intellectual property infringements etc. The approach set out in the WHO Guidance is not new or practically difficult to implement, but is very important to implement as soon as possible.
• The 2024 Code Status Report found that when counties included monitoring and compliance mechanisms into their laws they had higher breastfeeding rates. When they did not, breastfeeding rates were similar to those that had no legal measures at all.

Digital marketing is fast becoming the predominant source of exposure to promotion of baby feeding products globally. In 2022, WHO’s report on digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes  described its cross border extent and power. It is now totally out of control and parents and carers everywhere are targeted by paid  â€˜influencers’ and other deceptive schemes with information that undermines WHO and national health recommendations and disempowers parents.

Embassies

Members of the Executive Board Chair and Officers of the Board

NSAs in Official Relations

WHO/UNICEF/IBFAN  Code status report 2024

FIND YOUR NATIONAL LAW on IBFAN’s Website

WHO Basic Documents 49th Edition.  Constitution of WHO