TIBS walk for Breastfeeding Week

The Code was adopted 25 years ago by the World Health Assembly to protect mothers and babies.

It forbids promotional practices such as advertising inaccurate labelling, and giving samples, posters, calenders and gifts to mothers, nurses and doctors.

In a press release for the World Alliance for Breast Feeding Action (WABA), Yeong Joo Kean, Legal Advisor of the International Code Documentation Centre (CDC) said, “Companies spend millions of dollars promoting their products because it shows results, their sales would drop if they did not promote. But commercial promotion is in direct competition with breastfeeding and that is a bad thing.”

WABA said health authorities agree that breastfeeding is the single most effective intervention for infant health, has been proven to provide optimal nutrition and to protect against obesity, respiratory infections and diarrhoea, allergies, skin diseases and asthma.

WABA said more than 70 countries have made the Code into legislation and other measures to protect mothers and babies from being “bombarded with unethical marketing practices” but companies do not always comply with the rules.

“That is why WABA has decided to celebrate the Code’s 25th anniversary by issuing a call for action. Government’s must protect the health of their citizens, particularly babies, who are the most vulnerable,” said Julianna Lim Abdullah, international coordinator of WABA’s World Breastfeeding Week.

WABA said when more people are aware that the rules exist then more will protest when companies violate the Code and more governments will be prompted to take action and fewer companies will dare to advertise their products.

Locally, the Informative Breastfeeding Service (TIBS) will mark the observance with a walk around the Savannah tomorrow and in Tobago a walk will take place on August 12 starting from Tambrin Square, Scarborough and ending at Market Square.