PHA-Exch> Global breastfeeding campaign launched - one million campaign

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Patti Rundall prundall at babymilkaction.org

*ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN - global campaign in support of a woman's right to
breastfeed launched
**
Baby Milk Action action asks supporters to back the global petition

Press release 9 February 2009
 *See online version for links and images at:
 *http://www.babymilkaction.org/press/press9feb09.html
*
A new global campaign was launched today in India and 30 other countries,
including the UK. The *ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN: Support Women to
Breastfeed*brings together people from all over the world to take
action ranging from
signing petitions demanding support for women to breastfeed on the website
www.onemillioncampaign.org to individual actions such as pledging to support
at least one woman for breastfeeding.

Mike Brady, Campaigns and Networking Coordinator at Baby Milk Action, which
is promoting the campaign to its members and supporters, said:

    "It is very appropriate that this campaign is launched today in India as
this is a country which has been at the forefront of tackling aggressive
marketing of breastmilk substitutes and has seen the benefit, but
breastfeeding rates remain too low and infant mortality rates too high.
Mothers everywhere deserve our support. Here in the UK, 9 out of 10 mothers
who stopped breastfeeding before their child was 6 weeks old said they
wanted to breastfeed for longer."

The petition addresses the following message to all world leaders :

    "As citizens, we call for a stop to commercial interference in infant
nutrition, the strict implementation of the International Code for Marketing
of Breastmilk Substitutes and ensuring support for women to breastfeed. We
urge you to create/implement legislation that restricts infant milk
manufacturers from promoting their products as breastmilk substitutes/baby
foods, to have a budgeted plan of action to promote and support women for
optimal breastfeeding and to ensure breastfeeding friendly workplaces with
adequate nursing breaks in the public and private sector so that working
women are not forced to abandon breastfeeding."

Baby Milk Action and its partners in the International Baby Food Action
Network (IBFAN) monitor the baby food industry around the world and work for
implementation of the International Code and subsequent, relevant
Resolutions of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in legislation. Where
legislation has been introduced and is monitored and enforced, aggressive
marketing is being stopped, but many countries still do not have legislation
in place. Companies are called on to abide by the marketing requirements
independently of government measures (under Article 11.3), but do not.
Consumer campaigns, such as the Nestlé boycott, can force some changes, but
would be unnecessary if political leaders implemented and enforced the
marketing requirements.

The World Health Organisation's Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child
Feeding, adopted by the WHA in 2002, calls for implementation of the Code
and Resolutions and other action to provide support to mothers. According to
UNICEF:

    "Improved breastfeeding practices and reduction of artificial feeding
could save an estimated 1.5 million children a year."

*The global launch took place on 9 February in India, as the extracts from
the IBFAN-Asia press release below explain:
*
This issue assumes great importance given India's track record on infant
mortality, which is 57 deaths per 1000 live births according to National
Family Health Survey 3 (NFHS 3); that is more than one in 18 children dies
within the first year of life. This is even starker in rural areas. NFHS 3
data shows that in 2001-05, the infant mortality rate was 50 percent higher
in rural areas (62 deaths per 1,000 births) than in urban areas (42 deaths
per 1,000 births).

Realizing the urgency of the issue, Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, the Minister
for Panchayati Raj (community institutions), extended his commitment to the
issue. He offered to involve the Panchayat Raj Institutions in the entire
process of motivating women and educating concerned stakeholders to
facilitate women to adopt consistent breastfeeding practices. "Today when we
talk about the importance of breastfeeding for infant survival, we are
backed by solid scientific evidence to prove its necessity and efficacy," he
stated.

Despite the irrefutable evidence about breastfeeding, it is clear that out
of 135 million children born annually only 64 million begin breastfeeding
within an hour. The women need support to adopt and sustain the practice of
breastfeeding. Several factors affect women's ability to breastfeed
successfully: traditions, myths, status in the family and society, work
load, confidence in her body and sexuality, economic needs, labour laws,
domestic and workplace violence and harassment, availability of support
services, advertising by commercial baby food manufacturers, and so on.

Speaking about the challenges faced by the poor and socially marginalized
women in doing consistent breastfeeding, Dr. Arun Gupta, Regional
Coordinator IBFAN Asia and National Coordinator BPNI stressed on the
multi-sectoral and multiple levels of support women need to carry out
optimal breastfeeding practices – from skilled counselling to proactive
health systems to effective implementation of maternity entitlements, mother
and child friendly communities and workplaces and quick and efficient
implementation of the International Code for Marketing of Breastmilk
Substitutes – the IMS Act in India.

The CAMPAIGN, initiated by International Baby Food Action Network – Asia,
(IBFAN-Asia) is a global response to the preventable tragedies like one
which happened last year in which 300,000 infants, several of them under one
year of age, developing incurable kidney disease as a result of consuming
contaminated infant formula in China. Such catastrophes could be prevented
if women are supported to breastfeed their babies. Whether it contains
melamine or not, there is growing evidence that the powdered formula is not
a sterile product and there could be intrinsic contamination with lethal
pathogenic microorganisms like E. Sakazakii and Salmonella which may lead to
life threatening illness in neonates. Products of companies such as Nestle
and Mead Johnson have had to be recalled from across the world because of
such contamination. The WHO has taken it seriously and issued some
guidelines, which are available at
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/micro/jemra/assessment/esakazakii/en/.<http://www.who.int/foodsafety/micro/jemra/assessment/esakazakii/en/>Irrespective
of contamination, there is enough evidence that no infant
formula can match breastmilk as the best food for babies. Further, dangers
of infant formula are well known and suggest that women be supported
overwhelmingly to be able to provide optimal care to their children
effectively.

The first petition of the Campaign is addressed to world leaders and demands
that they ensure that International Code for Marketing of Breastmilk
Substitutes is strictly enforced, that workplaces be made women and child
friendly by providing adequate nursing breaks and well-run crèches, and that
countries set aside budgets for protection, promotion and support of
breastfeeding. The petition can be accessed at the CAMPAIGN website:
www.onemillioncampaign.org

The CAMPAIGN is being actively supported by IBFAN partner organisations such
as World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action.

*For more information please contact –
*
INDIA:

Dr. Arun Gupta – 989976306
Radha Holla – 9810617188
Dr. Dadhich - 9873926751.

UK:
Patti Rundall: prundall at babymilkaction.org Tel: +44 7786 523493 or
Mike Brady: mikebrady at babymilkaction.org Tel: +44 20 3239 9222

*Notes for editors
*
   1.      For pictures see http://www.flickr.com/babymilkaction/

   2.      Nestlé is the target of the boycott as independent monitoring
finds it is responsible for more violations the International Code of
Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent, relevant Resolutions
than any other company.

   3.      Baby Milk Action is a not-for-profit organisation and the UK
member of the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN). It is funded
by membership fees, merchandise sales and donations, along with grants from
development organisations and charitable trusts. IBFAN consists of more than
200 citizens' groups in over 100 countries.

   4.      The UK has breastfeeding rates amongst the lowest in the
industrialised world. Despite government commitments to improve
breastfeeding rates there has been little change, with initiation rates of
just 76%, meaning a quarter of infants receive no breastmilk at all.
Breastfeeding rates then decline rapidly as the promotion exposed in the
monitoring reports Baby Milk Action produces for the Baby Feeding Law Group
monitoring project. Marketing practices undermine breastfeeding and
encourages mothers to use formula. In the UK few infants are breastfed at 6
months. Government figures show just 48% are breastfed at 6 WEEKS. According
to government figures, 90% of mothers who stopped breastfeeding at 6 weeks
said they wanted to breastfeed for longer, as did 40% of mothers who
breastfed for 6 months.

   5. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has called on various
governments to do more to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. In
October 2008 it reported on the UK Government, stating (paragraphs 58 and
59):

          The Committee, while appreciating the progress made in recent
years in the promotion and support of breastfeeding in the State party, it
is concerned that implementation of the International Code of Marketing of
Breastmilk Substitutes continues to be inadequate and that aggressive
promotion of breastmilk substitutes remains common.

          The Committee recommends that the State party implement fully the
International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. The State party
should also further promote baby-friendly hospitals and encourage that
breastfeeding is included in nursery training.



 Baby Milk Action 34 Trumpington St, Cambridge, CB2 1QY
Work Tel: 01223 464420, Mobile: 07786 523493, Fax: 01223 464417
email: prundall at babymilkaction.org
*www.babymilkaction.org*    *www.ibfan.org  *www.babyfeedinglawgroup.org.uk
*
*
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