PHA-Exchange> mtc and breastfeeding - call for revision of who guidelines (2)

[claudio at hcmc.netnam.vn]

from jamie at csloxinfo.com -----

Does WHO make evidence-informed recommendations?

The recent health-vn posting on vertical transmission of HIV asked that we 
take note of a paper recommending: "The association
between mixed breastfeeding and increased HIV transmission risk, together with
evidence that exclusive breastfeeding can be successfully supported in
HIV-infected women, warrant revision of the present UNICEF, WHO, and UNAIDS
infant feeding guidelines." 

Does WHO make evidence-informed recommendations? A peer reviewed article
published in the Lancet yesterday addresses the issue of the use of scientific
evidence by the World Health Organization. The authors of 'Use of evidence in
WHO recommendations' are highly critical of the methods used by WHO in
developing normative guidance and note that scientific evidence is often not
used when recommendations are made. Department directors in WHO headquarters in
Geneva confirmed that this was so. The article authors put it very clearly:
"Systematic reviews and concise summaries of findings are rarely used for
developing recommendations." 

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673607606758/fulltext


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