Why Multi Stakeholder Partnerships are so problematic The need for sound information on infant and young child feeding is at the heart of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and the 20 World Health Assembly Resolutions that have…
Digital Marketing is out of control -a WHA Resolution is urgently needed
Digital Marketing is out of control – a Resolution is needed to protect mothers and babies WHO 154th Executive Board, WHO HQ Geneva, 22 27 January- 2024. 2024 is a reporting year for Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) Digital…
Codex green-lights wasteful, sweetened Ultra-Processed drinks for older babies
Codex green-lights wasteful, sweetened, Ultra-Processed drinks for older babies 46th Codex Commission meeting: 27.11.23 – 2.12.23 Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Rome March 23 Nov 22 FINAL REPORT List of participants WEB-STREAM IBFAN has been attending the 46th Session…
COP 28: Women and Children at Greatest Risk from Climate Crisis
Cop 28 30 Nov – 12 Dec 2023, Dubai (UAE). Main Page IBFAN GIFA Statement Innovative financing for a gender-equitable first-food system to mitigate greenhouse gas impacts of commercial milk formula: investing in breastfeeding as a carbon offset. Frontiers:Julie P.…
WHO Guideline on prevention and management of Wasting
WHO Guideline on prevention and management of Wasting and nutritional oedema (acute malnutrition) Information on the GL WHO issues new guideline to tackle acute malnutrition in children under five 20 November 2023 News release Reading time: 2 min (497 words)…
WHO Regional Committee for Europe: Slovenia calls for support for breastfeeding in emergencies.
Regional Committee for Europe: Slovenia calls for support and protection for women who want to breastfeed in emergencies. “..We must not forget about the continued care for people living with chronic conditions, as well as prevention and health promotion- for…
Baby Milk Action comments on UK trade strategy.
UK accession to Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Inquiry Following the announcement of the UK’s accession on 16 July, the UK International Agreements Committee is reactivating its inquiry into CPTPP and is gathering new evidence, regarding the…
Summer update – WBW – Global Congress
s World Breastfeeding Week (1-7 August) – Making a Difference for Working Parents REGISTER HERE for the Global Breastfeeding Coalition Webinar at 2pm Geneva time. The right to maternity protection for mothers who work outside the home is the theme of this…
IBFAN at the 76th World Health Assembly
Tuesday 23rd May. The public health NGOs – annoyingly called Non State Actors (NSAs) – who stayed on till 11pm to speak on the Emergency Debate. Standing: Baba Aye. Public Services International, Seated Left Jaume Vidal, HAI, Patti Rundall on…
Will bogus sustainability claims on processed foods save the planet?
Will bogus sustainability claims on processed foods save the planet? GREENWASHING Codex will discuss Sustainability Labelling in Canada this coming week. We know that the corporate-driven food system is wrecking planet, but will bogus, unmonitored sustainability claims make things worse or better? IBFAN…
Is “small quantity lipid nutrition supplement” (SQ-LNS) a sustainable and pragmatic strategy to prevent malnutrition?
World Nutrition Issue Vol 14 No 1 (2023) Is “small quantity lipid nutrition supplement” (SQ-LNS) a sustainable and pragmatic strategy to prevent malnutrition? PDF of WN article Introduction by Ted Greiner. Arun Gupta, Dr IBFAN Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest -India(NAPi)…
WBC4. IBFAN’s World Breastfeeding Conference in CAIRO
IBFAN’s World Breastfeeding Conference in Cairo organised by IBFAN ARAB WORLD Promo video of the Event WBC4 Call to Action (12) Spanish Portuguese French Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, Steve Wearne. Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission 2 minute welcome. 7 Minute Codex…
COP27 – Can lessons be learned and the UPF trade controlled?
COP27 – Can lessons be learned and the UPF trade controlled? Extinction Rebellion mass ‘nurse-in’ . Westminster, London October 2019 Photo: Helena Smith IBFAN Cop 27 ENG IBFAN COP27 ES COP27 – IBFAN FR As world leaders meet in Sharm El-Sheikh,…
Weak global trading standards and the climate crisis – why Codex must step up
Weak global trading standards and the climate crisis – why Codex must step up Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC45) 21-25th November 2022 – in Rome and on line. Click here for the Codex agenda and papers and PAGE DOWN for comments.…
Infant and young child feeding in the first three days after a nuclear power plant accident .
Please download the new guidance here. IFE Core Group recently published this new guidance note on Infant and young child feeding in the first three days after a nuclear power plant accident . You can also see the guidance document…
Pakistan Floods: IBFAN supports Ministry of Health’s call to protect breastfeeding
Breastfeeding International Emergency Response with IBFAN Pakistan Report IBFAN PAKISTAN – PRESS RELEASE June 2022, The worst .floods in Pakistan‘s history put a third of the country under water and killed 1,717 people. The monsoon rains, melting glaciers and severe heat wave…
NEW Joint Statement on Ukraine crisis – protecting mothers and children
Link to Baby Milk Action Blog. Infant feeding in emergencies – links to blogs IYCF_Joint-Statement-V2-06052022-EN IYCE Hub for more information Joint Statement Protecting Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in the Ukraine Conflict and Refugee Crisis Version 2: May 2022…
Why formula donations can be a risk – examples from Ukraine and Myanmar
Formula distribution in Myanmar: Here is a Facebook page shows free distribution of Nature One formula (follow-up) in Myanmar. The actress Khine Hnin Wai who runs a charity orphanage (who also appears to be the brand ambassador), says in the video that…
Infant feeding in emergencies – links to blogs
Links to blogs and publications on infant feeding in emergencies (not specific to Ukraine). IFE_policy_strategy_and_practice Report of the Ad Hoc Group on Infant feeding in Emergencies. May 1999 Why infants have special needs Babies have specific nutritional needs and are…
Baby Food marketing on WHO’s agenda – will the Civil Society voice be stifled?
Baby food marketing on WHO’s agenda – will the Civil Society voice be stifled? WEBCAST of the EB IBFAN STATEMENTS Members of the EB The 150th session of WHO’s Executive Board (EB) 24-29th January. For the first time…
IBFAN concerns about vulnerable groups and food safety
IBFAN to Dr. Branca Final 27.10.21 Agenda Item 8.3 Codex Alimentarius Commission November 2021 IBFAN Food Safety Statement 2020 Dr Francesco Branca Director Nutrition and Food Safety World Health Organization Avenue Appia 20 1211 Geneva 27 Switzerland 27th September 2021…
COP26:The baby food industry’s needless destruction of an irreplaceable natural resource – a form of ecocide?
FINAL COP STATEMENT French translation The baby food industry’s destruction of an irreplaceable natural resource IBFAN Statement 5th Nov 2021 The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes [i] was adopted forty years ago by the World Health Assembly, the…
Join the civil society opposition the UN Food Systems Summit
Hundreds of grassroots organizations to oppose the UN Food Systems Summit Civil society and Indigenous Peoples’ organizations launch a global counter-mobilization against the UN Food Systems Pre-Summit from 25 to 28 July 2021 in Rome and online. Rome, Italy. 19…
Why the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Initiative is a threat to child health.
Powerpoint presentations: N4G GBC (2) Multistakeholder power Why the Nutrition for Growth (N4G) global pledging initiative is a threat to child health – how industry infiltrates the baby food policy space. “At a time when poverty rates, economic disparity,…
WHO moves almost enough on the sun-setting of the Code – 10,000 support IBFAN’s call
Click Here for all IBFAN statements WHO moves ‘almost far enough‘ on sun-setting of the Code – 10,000 support IBFAN’s call 148th WHO Executive Board Meeting (EB148) (18 – 26th January 2021) In November we wrote about the proposals to…
Update 49 – Harm caused by the exploitation of Covid, ultra-processing and more
CLICK HERE for UD49 Please let us know if you would like to join Baby Milk Action as a member (to join see www.babymilkacion.org/shop. Our Annual General Meeting (an online Webinar) is open to our members on Tuesday, 29th…
Codex ignores risks to health and the planet of the global trade of ultra-processed foods.
Codex boosts the trade of UPFs, ignoring the risks to health and the planet. The 43rd Codex Commission (CAC43) is meeting this week ( 24, 25, 26 September) and will discuss some important issues. Thankfully, CAC is much more…
PRESS RELEASE: Launch of the WHO UNICEF IBFAN Global Code Report. Recordings and presentations
WHO has published the recording and presentations of the launch here: Access password: CLICK HERE #Code2020 Download presentations Remarks on behalf of IBFAN Mexico 2020 Code Status Report results and findings Code violations in Indonesia The Practitioner view Moderator: Chris…
IBFAN alerts the World Health Assembly to baby food exploitation of Covid-19
IBFAN alerts the 73rd World Health Assembly to baby food exploitation of COVID-19 The May 2020 session of the World Health Assembly was a virtual two day meeting focusing on COVID-19 18/19th May. IBFAN’s written statement reaffirmed our support for…
Civil Society Org Urges Amitabh Bachchan and Union Health Minister to Stop Promotion of Separation of Covid +ve mothers and their babies
Press Release Civil Society Organisation Urges Amitabh Bachchan and Union Health Minister to Stop Promotion of Separation of Covid +ve mothers and their babies Promoting a “Bottle- feeding” culture is NO good for us 29.April.2020, New Delhi : According to…
Ask your MP to protect breastfeeding, families in crisis and children in working poverty
The Coronavirus crisis is throwing up enormous problems for so many people and its hard to see where, when or how this nightmare will end. You can help by contacting your MP to make sure the following safeguards are in…
When the SUN casts a shadow – the human rights risks of multi-stakeholder partnerships
Full report: ENGLISH FRENCH SPANISH 4-page brief February 24, 2020 When the SUN casts a shadow New research study sheds light on the human rights risks of the Scaling up Nutrition (SUN) In the past two decades ‘multi-stakeholder’ partnerships have…
Global Heating – climate emergency – Green feeding
The carbon footprint of breastmilk substitutes in comparison with breastfeeding Johan O. Karlsson, Tara Garnett, Nigel C. Rollins, Elin Roos Carbon Footprint Taking action now, worldwide – and from birth. First we need to talk about: global heating – not…
IBFAN protecting child health at the 72nd World Health Assembly
With Fedora Bernard, Katie Campbell, Britta Boutry Stadelmann IBFAN’s team is covering this year’s World Health Assembly that is taking place in Geneva from 20-28th May. It will be followed by a 2-day meeting of the Executive Board (EB). You…
IBFAN’s 3rd Breastfeeding Conference:Breastfeeding and healthy complementary feeding.
Sign up for IBFAN’s 3rd Breastfeeding Conference: Breastfeeding and healthy complementary feeding. Rio Nov 11-15th http://www.enam.org.br/ingles/index.php The International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) with the support of the Government of Brazil and public universities, proudly host a joint meeting of…
Considerations regarding the use of infant formula products in infant and young child feeding in emergencies
https://worldnutritionjournal.org/index.php/wn/article/view/584/539 World Nutrition 2018;9(3):261-283 261 Considerations regarding the use of infant formula products in infant and young child feeding in emergencies (IYCF-E) programs Karleen Gribble 1, Christine Fernandes 2: 1.School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Parramatta, NSW. Australia.…
Trust WHO: The Business of Global Health
STOP PRESS: April 2020Vimeo removes the film “trustWHO” which depicts the hidden practices of the WHO Trust WHO: The Business of Global Health Investigating the hidden motives behind actions of the World Health Organisation and the real powers that control…
Influx of baby food supplies swamped Central Sulawesi emergency camps in Indonesia
Influx of baby food supplies swamped Central Sulawesi emergency camps in Indonesia Report form ICDC (International Code Documentation Centre) The care and feeding of infants and young children are compromised in emergency situations, which often lead to high rates of…
Urgent call to protect child health from harmful trade rules
The UN committee that deals with trade – the Codex Committee on Nutrition – will be meeting in Berlin from 24th -30th November 2018. CLICK HERE for background This is a critically important meeting for child health and IBFAN and…
Tackling Conflicts of Interest at the Zero Hunger Conference in Ecuador
The Third Zero Hunger Summit brought together experts from 35 countries and nine presidents to analyze mechanisms to combat nutrition problems in the Ecuadorian city of Cuenca. Several former presidents, including Oscar Arias (Costa Rica) and Nobel Peace Prize winner…
New ‘final’ draft 14 May: Help get a strong World Health Assembly Resolution that protects mothers and babies.
Please tweet your MP and the following people to ask the UK to support a strong Resolution next week. Remind them that the protection of breastfeeding and conflict of Interest safeguards are urgently needed for babies everywhere. http://www.babymilkaction.org/archives/17081 Penny Mordaunt @PennyMordaunt …
Joint Statement on the care of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
IYCF-E Joint Statement Bangladesh_final INFANT AND YOUNG CHILD FEEDING in EMERGENCIES JOINT STATEMENT ON ACTION Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, UN Agencies (UNICEF, WHO and WFP) and Nutrition Cluster Partners call for all involved…
Corporate power on show at the Conservative conference
Baby Milk Action is not aligned to any political party. Here are some of the notable things I spotted at the Conservative Conference in Manchester in October. Sugar and Nuclear power: With hardly any fringe events on health on the agenda, I was still…
New Guidance to protect Infant health in Emergencies.
The new, updated Operational Guidance for Emergency Relief Staff and Programme Managers , developed by the IFE Core Group is now available. Version 3 October 2017 (IBFAN is a member of the IFE Core Group) The Guidance is also available…
Mexican Appeal to protect breastfeeding – Nestle sends unsolicited formula
For the new Emergency guidance CLICK HERE Following the terrible events in Mexico, our IBFAN colleagues in Latin America prepared an appeal to the Secretary of Health, Mexico, to protect breastfeeding in this difficult situation. Sept 9. The same day…
Some useful new articles about how business works
How Big Business Got Brazil Hooked on Junk Food As growth slows in wealthy countries, Western food companies are aggressively expanding in developing nations, contributing to obesity and health problems. As growth slows in wealthy countries, Western food companies are aggressively…
IBFAN tackles corporate influence in global health governance at the 70th World Health Assembly
Web screenings of the proceedings can be viewed on this link CLICK HERE for the statements on the IBFAN GIFA website COMMITTEE B Friday 25th May Afternoon (aprox 3.30) Management, legal and governance matters 23.3 Engagement with non-State actors . International Baby…
Trump & trade; WHO: in the claws of the lobbyists? India and Malnutrition
Trump & trade; WHO: in the claws of the lobbyists? India and Malnutrition, Amsterdam tackles Obesity Here are links to media coverage of some important stories: a German/French TV Documentary on WHO: its funding and relation to corporations and philanthropists;…
Getting messages right – revised DEC appeal
STOP PRESS Manila Bulletin: DOH bans donation of breastmilk substitutes during disasters June 3, 2017, 3:20 PM By Betheena Kae Unite http://news.mb.com.ph/2017/06/03/doh-bans-donation-of-breastmilk-substitutes-during-disasters/ We contacted the aid agencies and complained to the Disaster’s Emergency Committee (DEC) about its appeal published on…
Ensuring correct messaging about breastfeeding in emergencies.
An example of messaging that can undermine breastfeeding and feed commonly held misconceptions. We are pleased that DEC has agreed to ensure that future appeals following our complaint about this full page appeal in the Guardian today. Disasters Emergency Appeal…