ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN Press release 23 May 2009:

Posted by Kim
Found on the One Million Campaign Website

Voices of 45000 People Reach World Health Assembly with a Call to Save Newborn Lives.

IBFAN, the International Baby Food Action Network, made a clear call when it launched its ‘One Million Campaign: Support Women to Breastfeed’ (www.onemillioncampaign.org) at World Health Assembly. The IBFAN team submitted a petition to the President of World Health Assembly, Mr. NS de Silva, signed by more than 45000 people from 161 countries.

Mr. de Silva said as he received the petition: “…In Sri Lanka we have very specific indicators……with our campaign for promoting (exclusive) breastfeeding, it has come to 78% , we are happy about it, and we want the Asia region, and whole world should promote this concept !”

The petition demands concrete support systems for breastfeeding women to increase the coverage of early and exclusive breastfeeding. This would help save more than one million newborn and infant lives annually, as well improve the health of their mothers. Needless to say, it will also set a path for healthy adult life.

Dr. Arun Gupta, the regional coordinator of IBFAN Asia, went on to present the demands of the petition to the World Health Assembly, urging the Assembly to adopt a resolution in 2010 to deal with 4 key issues. First, to prepare a specific plan of action on infant feeding which is budgeted and coordinated in the same way as action plans for immunisation. Second, to ensure the end of promotion of baby milks and foods intended for children under 2 years in a time-bound manner, that is by 2015. Third, to end partnerships in the area of infant and young child feeding and nutrition with commercial sector corporations that present conflicts of interests. And fourth, to create support and maternity entitlements for women both in the formal and informal sectors, so that mothers and babies can stay close to each other for six months at least.

Today, the World Health Organisation recognised the importance for infants to be exclusively breastfed: at the launch of the World Health Statistics Report 2009, for the first time, this key indicator was included in the statistics. While including an indicator on exclusive breastfeeding is good step forward, says Alison Linnecar, of IBFAN, "Early and exclusive breastfeeding should be monitored in the process of tracking progress of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 goal of child survival, both nationally and globally".

The report reveals that about only 48 million of 135 million babies born are able to benefit from exclusive breastfeeding, due to reasons such as aggressive promotion of baby milks and baby foods and lack of supportive health systems.

Many countries have still to enact national legislation to end this promotion in compliance with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes that was adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1981. Says Annelies Allain of IBFAN “Action must be accelerated on this crucial intervention”.

According to Dr Gupta, "There is an increasing trend towards mobilising public private partnerships in these areas, which is not healthy. These are a way for corporations to increase their profits….It is business for corporations meeting their basic objectives. Commercial interference on parents’ infant feeding
decisions should end."

Contacts:

Arun Gupta, IBFAN Asia
Phone: +91119899676306
E-mail: arun@ibfanasia.org

World Breastfeeding Week

Posted by Kim
Email received from World Breastfeeding Campaign

World Breastfeeding Week 2009

Its We the People Who Can Bring Change: Lets ACT NOW!!

World Breastfeeding Week starts on August 1, (1-7 August). The theme is Breastfeeding, A Vital Emergency Response: Are You Ready?

You can find out more download materials and find events at: http://www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org/

UNICEF and WHO have made statements in support of the week, which is coordinated by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action.

UNICEF's statement includes: "Around 9 million children under five die every year, largely from preventable causes... According to the Lancet, optimal breastfeeding in the first two years of life, especially exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, can have the single largest impact on child survival of all preventative interventions, with the potential to prevent 12 to 15% of all under age 5 deaths in the developing world... This year's World Breastfeeding Week provides an opportunity to sensitize policy-makers, donors, implementing partners and the general public to the benefits of breastfeeding, to its particular importance in emergency situations, and to the need to protect and support mothers to breastfeeding during emergencies."

You can find the full UNICEF and WHO statements via links at:
http://boycottnestle.blogspot.com/2009/07/wbw-2009.htm

One country facing an emergency is Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries, where 13% of the populations is infected with HIV.

In conditions of poverty, infants have a better chance of escaping HIV and being protected from other infections if they are exclusively breastfed. Yet in Malawi, Nestlé is promoting its formula with a logo claiming that it 'protects'. Formula is very expensive and those that believe the claim that the formula 'protects' may well use it alongside breastfeeding - mixed feeding is the worst possible scenario for the transmission of the virus.

It is a government requirement that tins have warnings that breastmilk is best for babies, but Nestlé refused to translate these into Chichewa, despite a government request to do so, because of 'cost restraints'. It took a Baby Milk Action campaign that led to Mark Thomas highlighting this irresponsible marketing on UK television, to change Nestlé's minds, and further campaigning to persuade Nestlé to show cup feeding, rather than bottle feeding, in line with government policies. See:
http://www.babymilkaction.org/CEM/compfeb00.html

So campaigning works. Now we need to persuade Nestlé to remove the 'protect' logo from labels in Malawi and elsewhere in the world. You can help by sending a message to Nestlé. You will find the information you need to do so on our July Campaign for Ethical Marketing action sheet, which is now available on our website at: http://www.babymilkaction.org/cem/cemjuly09.html

Also featured on the action sheet is a call on Danone/Milupa to stop using claims for its formula that have been found to be untrue in a ruling last week from the UK Advertising Standards Authority. Although these breach the advertising code's clauses on substantiation, truthfulness and comparisons, the code is voluntary and it remains to be seen whether similar claims will be removed from labels and other promotion stopped. There is also a call for Mead Johnson to stop making untrue claims about its formula.

If politicians fulfilled their responsibility to implement the baby food marketing standards adopted by the World Health Assembly, then public campaigns would not be necessary and there would be progress towards stopping the millions of preventable under-5 deaths.

You can help put pressure on politicians by signing the ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN petition. If you have already signed, visit the campaign website to see what action you can take to encourage friends and colleagues to sign up. See: http://www.onemillioncampaign.org

Action Alert

1. Make an opportunity to call upon companies and your leaders to END ALL KINDS OF PROMTIONS of Baby Foods by 2015.

2. If you would like to submit the One Million Campaign Petition to your Head of the State, please use the opportunity to do so.

3. Please SIGN UP Petition if you have not done so and invite your friends to sign up as well

At this link http://www.onemillioncampaign.org/press-release1.aspx you can find the Petition letter, and petition submitted to the President of the World Health Assembly in May 2009.

Another link http://www.onemillioncampaign.org/doc/draft-letter.doc provides a draft for you to use to write to your Head of State.

Thanks!

Team ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN- Support Women to Breastfeed

www.onemillioncampaign.org