Scope And Impact Of Digital Marketing Strategies For Promoting Breast Milk Substitutes

Digital technologies are increasingly used for marketing food products throughout the world. Although the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes specifies that there should be no advertising or other form of promotion of breast-milk substitutes to the general public, the Code does not directly address many of the specific strategies used in digital marketing. In November 2020, the World Health Assembly requested that WHO review current evidence and prepare a report describing how digital marketing strategies are being used for the promotion of breast-milk substitutes. This report examines in greater depth the scope, techniques and impact of digital marketing strategies for the promotion of breast-milk substitutes.

This is the fifth edition of the Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition annual report. This publication is led by FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) and jointly contributed to by United Nations' partner agencies (UNICEF, WFP, WHO), on the region’s progress (or lack thereof) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (in particular SDG 2 – Ending Hunger) and the World Health Assembly (WHA) 2030 targets on food security and nutrition. In recent years, previous editions reported that progress was stalling, then regressing and then more recently pushing us further off track. This reverse was evident even before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in 2020. The decline continued and worsened during the pandemic and the data is captured in this report. Updated estimates on the cost and affordability of a healthy diet show that nearly 45 percent of the region’s population cannot afford one. Reducing the cost of a healthy diet and making it more affordable is a critical element for achieving ending hunger (SDG2) and also the other SDGs. This year’s report also looks closely at food security and nutrition in urban areas which will increasingly contribute to the progress in SDG indicators as the proportion of the urban population across the region is set to cross 50 percent in this decade.

This year’s report should dispel any lingering doubts that the world is moving backwards in its efforts to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms. We are now only eight years away from 2030, but the distance to reach many of the SDG 2 targets is growing wider each year. There are indeed efforts to make progress towards SDG 2, yet they are proving insufficient in the face of a more challenging and uncertain context. The intensification of the major drivers behind recent food insecurity and malnutrition trends (i.e. conflict, climate extremes and economic shocks) combined with the high cost of nutritious foods and growing inequalities will continue to challenge food security and nutrition. This will be the case until agrifood systems are transformed, become more resilient and are delivering lower cost nutritious foods and affordable healthy diets for all, sustainably and inclusively.

The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes is the first original legal instrument of its kind adopted by the World Health Organization, in cooperation with UNICEF. The International Code, for the first time at the international plane, deals with a health issue that is of considerable importance to any society, namely, the healthy growth and development of infants. This volume is a thorough analysis of the provisions of the international code, and gives a detailed account of its history. The aim of the International Code and its material scope and definitions and certain known marketing practices to promote the use of breast-milk substitutes are described, as well as its implementation and the question of whether or not Member States of WHO are under a legal obligation to implement it. Modes of implementation are addressed, as is the monitoring of the International Code by States, individually and collectively, as well as self-monitoring by the infant-food industry, and the role of NGOs, institutions and individuals in the process. An appendix, containing the text of the International Code, and the relevant resolutions of the World Health Assembly and the Executive Board of WHO, a bibliography and a detailed index conclude the volume.

The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes is the first original legal instrument of its kind adopted by the World Health Organization, in cooperation with UNICEF. The International Code, for the first time at the international plane, deals with a health issue that is of considerable importance to any society, namely, the healthy growth and development of infants. This volume is a thorough analysis of the provisions of the International Code, and gives a detailed account of its history. The aim of the International Code, its material scope and definitions, and certain known marketing practices to promote the use of breast-milk substitutes are described, as well as its implementation and the question of whether or not Member States of WHO are under a legal obligation to implement it. Modes of implementation are addressed and the monitoring of the International Code by States, individually and collectively, as well as self-monitoring by the infant-food industry, and the role of NGOs, institutions and individuals in the process. An appendix, containing the text of the International Code, and the relevant resolutions of the World Health Assembly of WHO, and a bibliography and a detailed index conclude the volume.

Abstract: The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have adopted a code for marketing breast milk substitutes as a guide to health professionals, education systems, governments, and manufacturing companies. The aim of the Code is to promote safe and adequate nutrition of infants through the use of breast feeding or breast milk substitutes (when necessary). The Code includes sections on scope, definitions, information and education, general public and mothers, health care systems and workers, and marketing personnel. Other topics cover standards for labelling, quality, and implementation. Resolutions passed by the World Health Assembly that relate to the Code of Marketing are included. Finally, excerpts from an introductory statement in favor of the Code are presented. (rkm).

WHO and UNICEF jointly developed this global strategy to focus world attention on the impact that feeding practices have on the nutritional status, growth and development, health, and thus the very survival of infants and young children. The strategy is the result of a comprehensive two-year participatory process. It is based on the evidence of nutrition's significance in the early months and years of life, and of the crucial role that appropriate feeding practices play in achieving optimal health outcomes. The strategy is intended as a guide for action; it identifies interventions with a proven positive impact; it emphasizes providing mothers and families the support they need to carry out their crucial roles, and it explicitly defines the obligations and responsibilities in this regards of governments, international organizations, and other concerned parties.