The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 1.5 million infants die around the world every year because they are not breastfed. That is why a marketing code was introduced in 1981 to regulate the marketing of breastmilk substitutes. Nestlè continues to violate its provisions.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 1.5 million infants die around the world every year because they are not breastfed. Where water is unsafe a bottle-fed child is up to 25 times more likely to die as a result of diarrhoea than a breastfed child.
That is why a marketing code was introduced in 1981 to regulate the marketing of breastmilk substitutes. Nestlè continues to violate its provisions.
Nestlé provides information to mothers which promotes artificial infant feeding and discourages breastfeeding;
donates free samples and supplies to health facilities to encourage artificial infant feeding;
gives inducements to health workers for promoting its products;
does not provide clear warnings on labels of the benefits of breastfeeding and dangers of artificial feeding. In some cases the labels are in a language that mothers are unlikely to understand.
Reversing the decline in breastfeeding could save the lives of 1.5 million infants every year according to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The expensive of baby milks affects all members of the family, impoverishing those already poor. In the developing world baby milks are over-diluted to make them last longer, which can cause malnutrition.
WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, PLEDGE NOT TO BUY NESTLE PRODUCTS UNTIL NESTLE ABIDES BY THE LETTER AND SPIRIT OF THE "INTERNATIONAL CODE OF MARKETING OF BREASTMILK SUBSTITUTE" AND SUBSEQUENT RELEVANT RESOLUTIONS OF THE WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY.
