HomeLocal NewsWHO accuses firms of unethical marketing of baby formula

WHO accuses firms of unethical marketing of baby formula

Date:

Related stories

Gov. Yusuf avoids direct contact with Kwankwaso

Tensions are mounting in Kano's political sphere as Governor...

NASU, SSANU suspend strike following FG’s commitment to pay

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non-Academic Staff...

Kano begins registration of foreign residents

The Kano State Government has launched a comprehensive verification...

Decomposed body retrieved from well in Kano

The Kano State Fire Service has retrieved the lifeless...

Kano improves drug quality in health facilities

Kano State Drugs and Medical Consumables Supply Agency (DMCSA)...
spot_img

The World Health Organisation and UNICEF accuse formula milk companies of targeting pregnant women and young mothers with unethical marketing practices, in a study released on Wednesday.

According to the study, there are misleading and scientifically unsubstantiated messages used to convince mothers to give babies formula instead of breast milk.

The industry was worth 55 billion dollars in 2019.

While breastfeeding rates have slightly increased in the last 20 years, the revenue of formula milk producers has almost doubled in the same time frame.

There are around half a dozen large firms, Nigel Rollins from the WHO department responsible for maternal and child health told dpa.

He said their practices are similar but did not name individual companies.

Only 25 countries have widely implemented a 1981 code of conduct on baby food marketing, the WHO reported in 2020.

The report says companies started or infiltrated mothers’ groups on social media to promote baby formula and provided health workers with dubious information at conferences or in brochures, which they then passed on to mothers.

This false information included claims that babies sleep longer with formula, breast milk loses quality over time and that certain products could prevent allergies.

According to the WHO, there are lifelong benefits to breastfeeding for the first months of life, including reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes , as well as reducing the breast cancer risk in mothers.

Subscribe

Latest stories

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here