WHO laments breach of 1981 Code

By Chioma Obinna

Efforts by the Federal government and its partners to achieve the global target of at least 50 percent exclusive breastfeeding rate by 2025 as recommended in the National Policy on Food and Nutrition may remain a mirage.   

This is because formula milk companies have gone a step to convince caregivers but are now paying social media platforms and influencers to get to nursing mothers and pregnant women. 

These companies had continued to entice caregivers who in return sabotaged efforts of the Nigerian government and partners to increase the breastfeeding rate in the country.

An investigation by Good Health Weekly showed that the companies’ new strategy is gaining more ground as some Nigerian mothers who have been converted to exclusive breastfeeding are now going back to infant formula feeding.

• Abia nursing mothers recount benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, give credit to UNICEF

Rate of breastfeeding in Nigeria

Findings show that these mothers are enticed with gifts and discounts on any purchase made.

Sadly, the National Regulation on the marketing of Breast milk Substitutes, BMS, is to respond to the demands of the International Code of Marketing of BMS and subsequent World Health Assembly Resolutions which is to address the problem of undermining breastfeeding to the infants and young children.

The Regulation and Act prohibit the unethical marketing practices of infant food manufacturers. The BMS include infant formula, follow-up formula, growing up milk, feeding bottles, teats, dummies, and pacifiers and stipulating that these should not be advertised or promoted to the public, mother through any mass media communication channels, not even at the health facility should the sellers contact the mothers, pregnant women or their families.

Unfortunately, the new trick is currently discouraging the mother/child’s right to make an informed decision to optimally breastfeed the child and thereby increasing the use of breast milk substitutes.

WHO Report

Confirming the development, the latest report by the World Health Organisation, WHO showed that formula milk companies are paying social media platforms and influencers to gain direct access to pregnant women and mothers at some of the most vulnerable moments in their lives. 

The global formula milk industry, valued at some US$55 billion, is targeting new mothers with personalized social media content that is often not recognised as advertising.

With tools like apps, virtual support groups or ‘baby-clubs’, paid social media influencers, promotions and competitions, and advice forums or services, formula milk companies can buy or collect personal information and send personalized promotions to newly pregnant women and mothers.

WHO sampled and analysed four million social media posts about infant feeding published between January and June 2021 using a commercial social listening platform. The posts reached 2.47 billion people and generated more than 12 million likes, shares, or comments.

The report showed that formula milk companies post content on their social media accounts around 90 times per day, reaching 229 million users.

This pervasive marketing is increasing purchases of breast-milk substitutes and therefore dissuading mothers from breastfeeding exclusively as recommended by WHO.

Speaking on the report, the Director of the WHO Nutrition and Food Safety department, Dr. Francesco Branca said: “The promotion of commercial milk formulas should have been terminated decades ago. The fact that formula milk companies are now employing even more powerful and insidious marketing techniques to drive up their sales is inexcusable and must be stopped.”

The report compiled evidence from social listening research on public online communications and individual country reports of research that monitors breast-milk substitute promotions as well as drawing on a recent multi-country study of mothers’ and health professionals’ experiences of formula milk marketing. 

The studies show how misleading marketing reinforces myths about breastfeeding and breast milk and undermines women’s confidence in their ability to breastfeed successfully.

The proliferation of global digital marketing of formula milk blatantly breaches the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (the Code), which was adopted by the 1981 World Health Assembly.

Despite clear evidence that exclusive and continued breastfeeding is key determinant of improved lifelong health for children, women, and communities; few children are breastfed as recommended. If current formula milk marketing strategies continue, that proportion could fall further, boosting companies’ profits.

Rate of breastfeeding in Nigeria

In the views of the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, the implication of breast milk substitutes marketing is enormous as the benefits of breastfeeding to both mother and baby cannot be over-emphasized.  

According to the National Demographic and Health Survey 2018, the early initiation rate of breastfeeding is 42 percent which clearly shows that not up to half of the Nigerian children are breastfed within one hour of birth.

The report also showed that the exclusive breastfeeding rate in Nigeria is 29 percent indicating that only a mere percentage of infants aged 0-6 months are exclusively breastfed leaving a whopping 71 percent of infants not enjoying the benefits of breast milk in their formative years.

WHO further called on the baby food industry to end exploitative formula milk marketing, and on governments to protect new children and families by enacting, monitoring, and enforcing laws to end all advertising or other promotion of formula milk products.  Studies have shown that breastfed babies have stronger immunity, reduce the risk of infections and many childhood illnesses, and may also have longer-term health benefits including reduced risk of overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence.  

Further studies also revealed that obesity rates are 15-30 percent lower in breastfed babies compared to formula-fed babies and that 80,000 child deaths are prevented annually when optimal breastfeeding is practiced.

Furthermore, breastfeeding provides huge health benefits to mothers. It helps to prevent post-partum bleeding, lowers the risk of breast and ovarian cancers, and many more. About 20,000 maternal deaths can be prevented annually when optimal breastfeeding is practiced.