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Marketing is part of everyday life, experienced by virtually everyone. However, marketing of formula milk products is different from the marketing of everyday items such as shampoo, shoes, or fridges. Feeding practices of children in the first 3 years of life profoundly affect their survival, health and development throughout their lives. Deciding how we feed our infants and children should therefore be based on the very best information and truthful evidence, influenced only by what is best for the child and parents and free of commercial interests.

In 1981, the Thirty-fourth World Health Assembly adopted the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (the Code) to regulate the marketing of breast-milk substitutes.

Forty years on, formula milk marketing still represents one of the most underappreciated risks to infants’ and children’s health. Scaling up breastfeeding could prevent an estimated 800 000 deaths of children under 5 and 20 000 breast cancer deaths among mothers each year. Despite the Code and subsequent relevant World Health Assembly resolutions, formula milk companies continue to put sales and shareholder interests before infant and population health.

This report draws insights from a large study, commissioned by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund, conducted over the course of two years.

The study sought to hear directly from women and those who influence them – health professionals, partners, family members and friends – about their exposure to and experience of formula milk marketing. Eight countries were included – Bangladesh, China, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Viet Nam – representative of countries in their regions

yet diverse in their income levels, exclusive breastfeeding rates, and implementation of the Code. The study was conducted in urban populations where trends and values about infant feeding practices are established and spread to other communities.

What emerges from this research is the most complete picture to date of mothers’ and health professionals’ experiences of formula milk marketing – and it is deeply troubling. This research shows that formula milk marketing knows no limits. It misuses and distorts information to influence decisions and practices. The consequences for the health and human rights of women and children are not new but often overlooked.

The need for society and governments to call out the unethical nature of formula milk marketing to a much broader audience, and to take decisive action to end this marketing and increase support to mothers and families is long overdue. Doing so will inevitably unnerve the vested interests of this US$ 55 billion industry and the shareholders and stakeholders who benefit from increasing sales.

For full report: https://www.unicef.org/documents/impact-bms-marketing