Breastfeeding International Emergency Response with IBFAN Pakistan Report IBFAN PAKISTAN – PRESS RELEASE IBFAN Pakistan is working hard to provide health, nutrition and breastfeeding counselling, and education on avoiding ultra-processed products and eating…
WHO on World Breastfeeding Week: Foods for infants and young children: a matter of concern?
https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/03-08-2022-foods-for-infants-and-young-children–a-matter-of-concern Foods for infants and young children: a matter of concern? 3 August 2022 News release World Breastfeeding Week, held on 1–7 August each year, sparks discussions across the WHO European Region around the growing international concern about infant…
IBFAN Codex Press Releases and comments
Ensuring Strong safeguards on Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods. https://www.babymilkaction.org/archives/34951 Codex standards must have strong safeguards August 2022 Should Business NGOs sit on country delegations? Question to the Codex Secretariat during the CAC briefing 29th July 2022. HERE Codex Press…
Global trading standards must follow WHO in restricting harmful marketing
Global trading standards must follow WHO in restricting harmful marketing 75th World Health Assembly, Geneva, 22-28th May, 2022 IBFAN, the global network that has helped governments stop harmful marketing of baby feeding products for the last 40 years, attended…
World Food Safety Day – who should be held accountable for the 9 US baby deaths?
World Food Safety Day: who should be held accountable for the 9 US baby deaths? IBFAN Statement 7th June 2022 Above: The baby formula shortage is prompting calls to increase support for breastfeeding, NPR May 30, 2022. “Parents are…
Cross promotion: Idec sues Nestlé, Mead Johnson and Danone for the ‘Game of 7 mistakes’
STOP PRESS: “Press release IDEC wins over Nestlé, 4 July2022 Court orders Nestlé to clearly signal the difference between infant formulas and growing-up milks IDEC filed a lawsuit against the company for cross-promotion that causes confusion for consumers It…
4 new WHO reports expose marketing by the $55 billion formula milk industry
WHO UNICEF multi-country report – How marketing of formula milk influences our decisions on infant feeding WHO report on scope and impact of Digital Marketing WHO Policy Brief and “model law” for the European Region covering breastmilk substitutes, baby foods and related…
IBFAN at the 75th World Health Assembly 22-28th May 2022
WATCH WHA RECORDINGS Agenda 18, Committee B 6th and 7th session Friday 27th May HERE and HERE IBFAN STATEMENTS FOR WHA 75 Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition and Food Safety Agenda Item 18.1 read by Elisabeth Sterken Over…
NEW: WHO UNICEF IBFAN -National implementation of the Code Status report 2022
Marketing of breastmilk substitutes: national implementation of the international code, status report 2022 WHO UNICEF IBFAN https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/354221 This report provides updated information on the status of implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (BMS) and subsequent relevant…
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…
WHO Model law for the European Region
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…
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…
Ask your MP to sign Early Day Motion 92
Ask your MP to support the Code and Resolutions in full FIND YOUR MP EDM (Early Day Motion) 92: tabled on 24 May 2021 Thanks to long time Code supporter Alison Thewliss SNP for sponsoring this Early Day Motion following…
WATCH the 40th Anniversary Code and Global Breastfeeding Protection Day
40th Anniversary of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and launch of World Breastfeeding Protection Day. 21 May 2021 WATCH THE EVENT HERE IBFAN films created by IBFAN Mexico and Brazil IBFAN film 7 minutes IBFAN Chronology:…
74th World Health Assembly – stifling the voice of Civil Society
IBFAN is once again following the proceedings of the WHA74 taking place virtually from 24 May to 1 June 2021. This year, as part of the WHO Reform agenda WHO is now proposing to accept only grouped statements from NSAs…
Alarm over WHO Foundation ‘Thank you’ to Nestle
All those who know and worry about Nestlé’s appalling record on baby foods, water and ultra-processed products were appalled to see a Tweet from the newly formed WHO Foundation, thanking Nestlé for a donation. Please ask WHO Director General Dr…
Mark Thomas catches up on Nestlé
what’s Nestlé up to now? Join Mark Thomas, Geoff Atkinson and I for a look back over the years. The YouTube film will be available from the 25th April for one week. TICKETS £5 Move to the second hour for…
Australia: consultation on the industry voluntary self-regulatory agreement (MAIF)
Consultation on the Australian voluntary self-regulatory agreement (MAIF) The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is consulting on an application by the Infant Nutrition Council (INC) for re-authorisation for current and future manufacturers in, and importers into, Australia of infant…
Food Standards Agency International Conference
I attended the Food Standards Agency International conference today. (note that the FSA is no longer responsible for nutrition in England and Wales) Supporting an evolving world – International co-operation and regulation Chair: Steven Wearne, Vice Chair at Codex…
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…
News Update: Vaccines and breastfeeding
New WHO Guidance: Interim recommendations for use of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2, under Emergency Use Listing and a direct quote. SAGE Recommendations:https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-vaccines-SAGE_recommendation-BNT162b2-2021.1 “Lactating women Breastfeeding offers substantial health benefits to lactating women and their breastfed children. Vaccine efficacy is expected…
How companies exploit the COVID-19 crisis
How companies are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic pretending their marketing through digital social media is ‘Humanitarian’ and that their products build immunity. Examples of Nestlé’s widespread promotion of NanGrow 3 – for babies over one. Nestlé implies that the addition…
COVID-19 WHO and UNICEF stress the importance of breastfeeding
COVID-19 WHO and UNICEF stress the importance of breastfeeding WHO and UNICEF are aiming to have consistent, sound reliable information based on the best available scientific evidence – guidance that will be updated as new evidence comes forward. We hope…
No ‘sunsetting of the Code ’ please! Babies need vigilence us to be needed
IBFAN statement WHA73 delivered 10.11.20 No ‘sunsetting of the Code please’ – babies need us to be vigilant Resumed online 73rd World Health Assembly 9-14th November 2020 WHA 73 website LIVE WEBCAST Participants list A new draft Decision…
IBFAN’s Counter-Call to WHO and UNICEF to STOP 10 year-licence to harm children.
This blog was published in July 2020 and updated in November 2020 STOP Press: Of the seventeen responses to the Call to Action- none meet the criteria. Time to move on and focus on helping governments legislate? Statements of support…
LLL and FIAN International, join IBFAN’s Counter Call
Support for IBFAN’s Statement re WHO/UNICEF “Call to Action” 26 October 20 Categories: News From LLLI, Uncategorized La Leche League International (LLLI), as an international breastfeeding support organization, has a responsibility to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding by upholding the…
Former UNICEF Deputy Exec. Directors join IBFAN’s Counter Call
Kul Gautum, former deputy executive director of UNICEF and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations LINK Dear Charlotte, It has come to my attention and that of many UNICEF retirees, that in June 2020, UNICEF and WHO along with several…
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…
WHO UNICEF: World Breastfeeding Week 2020 Message
World Breastfeeding Week 2020 Message Joint message: UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus 31 July 2020 Statement The theme of World Breastfeeding Week 2020 is “Support breastfeeding for a healthier planet”. In line with…
Nestle targets Brazilian Medical students
Our Brazilian colleagues have told us about a Nestlé J.Pedia online learning program that was launched in June. The program has targeted 15,000 24/25 year old medical students – offering consultant positions, in exchange for signed contracts and the publishing…
Webinars: Protecting Breastfeeding in the time of Covid-19
You are welcome to join this Webinar on Protecting Breastfeeding in the Time of COVID-19: Implementation of the Code in Asia on Wednesday June 24 at 2:00PM Bangkok time. To participate please register HERE as soon as possible.
Launch of WBTi Evaluation 12 June – Tracking National actions makes a difference
“Making A Difference- An Evaluation Report of the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) in Mobilising National Actions on Breastfeeding and IYCF: 2020”. Date: 12 June 2020, 01:00 PM (GMT) To participate please register HERE Executive Summary Full Report Press Release …
IBFAN statement for World Food Safety Day, 7th June 2020
IBFAN STATEMENT World Food Safety Day June 7, 2020 Food Safety Everyone’s Business The WHO initiative, its second World Food Safety Day aims to draw attention to the need to prevent foodborne risks, contribute to food security, human health economic…
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…
US Objects to ‘Equitable Access’ language in EU-led draft Resolution on Covid-19
WHO Member States Agree On Draft Resolution For COVID-19 Response – Overriding US Objections to ‘Equitable Access’ Elaine Ruth Fletcher, 14 May 2020 World Health Organization member states reached initial agreement today on a European Union-led draft resolution on global…
Health and nutrition claims for infant formula are poorly substantiated and potentially harmful
Guidance for the Conduct and Reporting of Clinical Trials of Breast Milk Substitutes Another important paper has been published in JAMA using the output from a global Delphi project which aims to protect breastfeeding when clinical trials of BMS are…
WHO May Host Virtual World Health Assembly May 18 – COVID-19 To Be Main Agenda Item
WHO May Host Virtual World Health Assembly May 18 – COVID-19 To Be Main Agenda Item https://www.healthpolicy-watch.org/who-may-host-virtual-world-health-assembly-meeting-may-18-with-covid-19-main-agenda-topic/ For the first time ever, the World Health Assembly appears set to meet in a one-day virtual session on May 18, which…
Call for a novel CERN with patent free collaboration
CERN’s convention: “The Organization shall have no concern with work for military requirements and the results of its experimental and theoretical work shall be published or otherwise made generally available.” The need for global collaboration on science with safeguards against…
NGOs join forces to support WHO following US threats to withdraw funding
SID article IBFAN statement of support to WHO 11th April 2020 The International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) and partner civil society organisations are joining forces to support the World Health Organisation in the face of attacks on its Director General,…
Trump’s blame game against the WHO: the wrong move in the global endeavour to manage the Covid19 pandemic
ARTICLE by SID Trump’s blame game against the WHO: the wrong move in the global endeavour to manage the Covid19 pandemic It is classical syndrome of hate-mongering governments to nervously seek and blame “others” for responsibilities and failures that…
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…
Managing Severe Acute Malnutrition/Severe Wasting
Global Action Plan (GAP) on child wasting* During the WHO Executive Board (3-8th January) WHO conducted a very short consultation on this new plan. Baby Milk Action Response NAPi India Response (a national think tank on nutrition) The final Plan proposes…
No ‘sunset clause’ please! NGOs call for vigilance on harmful marketing
Press Release PDF No ‘sunset clause’ please! NGOs call for vigilance on harmful marketing WHO Executive Board meeting, Geneva, 7th February 2020 Civil society NGOs attending WHO’s Executive Board meeting ahead of the May World Health Assembly are protesting against…
WHO Executive Board Meeting: Biennial Reporting on the International Code under threat
WHO Executive Board Meeting, 3 February 2020 – 8 February 2020, WHO Headquarters, Geneva Event website WEBCAST HERE SEE Press release HERE IBFAN made interventions on Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nurition (Agenda Item 18 see Friday pm webcast…
World in Progress: Who decides what’s healthy? Private donors impacting WHO’s health policies
World in Progress: Who decides what’s healthy? Private donors impacting WHO’s health policies The current Corona virus outbreak highlights the importance or international coordination in health, and the World Health Organization plays and important role in that. But as UN…
WHO: Secretariat bypasses FENSA restrictions on private sector secondments
WHO: Secretariat bypasses FENSA restrictions on private sector secondments through “Nil-Remuneration Contracts” TWN Info Service on Health Issues (Jan2020/01) Third World Network Geneva, 29 January 2020(TWN) – The secondment of industry personnel to the World Health Organization (WHO) under “Nil-Remuneration”…
Court condemns Nestlé for violating Swiss Labour Law regarding its food safety manager
PRESS RELEASE Court condemns Nestlé for violating Swiss Labour Law Mrs. Yasmine Motarjemi v. Société des Produits Nestlé SA (formerly Nestec SA) Yasmine Motarjemi, Ph.D., holds an M.Sc. degree in food science and technology from the University of Languedoc, Montpellier,…