We know from experience that global advocacy is strengthened where there is consensus amongst network partners and individuals on the issues that the breastfeeding movement aims to advance.

WABA Advocacy and Outreach work aims to advocate for and respond to critical, urgent and emerging issues related to the targets of the Global Strategy and Innocenti Declarations, and to increase the number of other organizations and individuals who also advocate and respond to these issues.

WABA works with its core partners, ABM, IBFAN, ILCA, LLLI, and Wellstart International. Through its joint actions on key issues, WABA hopes to achieve the following outcomes:

• increased awareness and preparedness for action on key issues
• continued commitment and
• increased actions

Various stakeholders involved in breastfeeding nationally and/or regionally have to be engaged in advocacy activities particularly in development of or effecting positive change in policies and practices affecting mothers and babies. WABA and its core partners have dialogued, campaigned and developed tools to sensitise stakeholders on breastfeeding and the various key issues to bring about an enabling environment for mothers to breastfeed their babies. This is an ongoing process as new challenges come in changing realities within countries. See menu on Key Issues, Action Ideas and Resources.

According to the Wikipedia: Advocacy by an individual or by an advocacy group normally aim to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an asset of interest. Advocacy can include many activities that a person or organization undertakes including media campaigns, public speaking, commissioning and publishing research or poll or the 'filing of friend of the court briefs'. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advocacy

5 April 2012 - WABA presents a new information flyer entiled: '21 Dangers of Infant Formula the Infant Formula Companies don’t want you to know’! The flyer lists the dangers mothers should beware of in terms of the risk their babies face when fed infant formula. It also lists the dangers mothers face if they do not breastfeed their babies. Produced on the occasion of WABA's 21st Anniversary in February 2012, the fact sheet was written by WABA-ILCA Fellow for 2011/2012, Nancy Forrest (RN, BSN, IBCLC). References of the evidence-based research used for this information flyer are provided on the back.

“The Business of malnutrition” breaking down trade rules to profit from the poor

Public Private Partnerships often promote product-based solutions for development. These can be untested ‘innovative approaches’ that are easy to measure in terms of volume – but hard to evaluate in terms of health.

The problem of this approach came into sharp focus at the Codex Alimentarius Nutrition meeting in Germany in November 2011 (1) IBFANers from Canada, Luxembourg, the UK and Swaziland present at the meeting succeeded in stopping the food industry and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, (GAIN) from weakening existing controls on health and nutrition claims on baby foods(2). GAIN is the public private partnership funded by the Gates Foundation that works with over 600 companies - and is seeking to open up markets for fortified complementary foods for babies.

Malang Fofana, the head of the Gambia delegation, expressed the concerns of many saying, “Because of the move to ‘product-based’ solutions, funding is already drying up for most infant and young child feeding support programs and for community-based approaches that teach and promote skills to make nutritious family foods from local indigenous ingredients. I fear that once this runaway train leaves the station there will be no stopping it.”

The new ‘business of malnutrition’ with the potential of multi-billion dollar profits is often portrayed as a win-win solution for the economy and development. IBFAN fears that instead of improving infant and young child health, it could instead lead to a marketing bonanza which exacerbates the double burden of malnutrition (under and over nutrition) and drains family budgets.

There was as usual extensive food industry presence at the Codex meeting. 40% of the 268 delegates were food industry, with 59 attending as members of Business Interest NGOs (BINGOS) and 49 included on government delegations – some even heading these delegations. For example, the Mexican delegation, which made many industry-friendly interventions, was 100% industry, with US baby food companies Mead Johnson and Abbott alongside Kelloggs and Coca Cola.

(1) The draft Report of the Thirty-third Session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) hosted by Germany in Bad Soden, Frankfurt. https://www.ccnfsdu.de/

(2) WHA Resolutions 49.15 (1996), 55.25 (2002) and 63.23 (2010). WHA Res 55.25 (4) “URGES Member States, as a matter of urgency to ensure that the introduction of micronutrient interventions and the marketing of nutritional supplements do not replace, or undermine support for the sustainable practice of, exclusive breastfeeding and optimal complementary feeding.” WHA Res 63.23 (1.4) “Urges member states to end inappropriate promotion of food for infants and young children and to ensure that nutrition and health claims shall not be permitted for foods for infants and young children, except where specifically provided for, in relevant Codex Alimentarius standards or national legislation.”

For more information and a fuller version of this piece see: http://info.babymilkaction.org/pressrelease/pressrelease24nov110

For more information contact:
Patti Rundall, Baby Milk Action/IBFAN/IACFO +44 7786 523493 prundall@babymilkaction.org
Elisabeth Sterken: National Director, INFACT Canada esterken@infactcanada.ca

List of current concerns:

The 2nd Global Conference “WOMEN DELIVER: delivering solutions for girls and women” was held from 7-9 June, 2010, in Washington, DC, USA. Attending the conference and promoting the role of breastfeeding for the health and wellbeing of girls and women were:

• Miriam Labbok, Professor of the Practice of Public Health and Maternal and Child Health Director, Carolina Breastfeeding Institute
• Rae Davies, Trainer, The Birth Company
• Maureen Norton, Cognizant Technical Officer, USAID
• Rebecca Magalhães, Co-coordinator, WABA Mother Support Task Force
• Chris Mulford, Co-coordinator, WABA Women and Work Task Force;
• Elaine Petitat-Cote, Human Rights Office, IBFAN-GIFA.