WHO cites exploitative formula milk marketing
Nature designed human milk as the ideal food for human babies. a mother’s milk contains antibodies that help protect against many common childhood illnesses. that’s why the World Health Organization (WHO) has been promoting breastfeeding for the longest time, because a mother’s own milk is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival.
Breastfeeding within the first hour of birth, followed by exclusive breastfeeding for up to two years, offers a powerful line of defense against all forms of child malnutrition. But globally, WHO said only 44 percent of babies less than six months old are exclusively breastfed.
Global breastfeeding rates have increased very little in the past two decades, while sales of formula milk have more than doubled in roughly the same time, the WHO said.
Breastfed children perform better on intelligence tests, are less likely to be overweight or obese and less prone to diabetes later in life. Mothers who breastfeed also have a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancers. WHO said nearly two out of three infants are not exclusively breastfed for the recommended six months—a rate that has not improved in two decades. It said inappropriate marketing of mother’s milk substitutes continues to undermine efforts to improve breastfeeding rates and duration worldwide.
The WHO revealed last week what it called “the shocking extent of exploitative formula milk marketing around the world.” In a new report titled Scope and impact of digital marketing strategies for promoting breast-milk substitutes, WHO outlined the digital marketing techniques designed to influence the decisions new families make on how to feed their babies. Formula milk companies, the report said, 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 $55 billion, is targeting new mothers with personalized social media content that is often not recognizable as advertising, according to the report.
The WHO report summarized findings of new research that sampled and analyzed four million social media posts about infant feeding published between January and June 2021 using a commercial social listening platform. These posts reached 2.47 billion people and generated more than 12 million likes, shares or comments.
Through 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 new pregnant women and mothers, the report said. It added that formula milk companies post content on their social media accounts around 90 times per day, reaching 229 million users; representing three times as many people as are reached by informational posts about breastfeeding from non-commercial accounts.
The report said this pervasive marketing has been increasing purchases of breast-milk substitutes and therefore dissuading mothers from breastfeeding exclusively as recommended by WHO.
“The promotion of commercial milk formulas should have been terminated decades ago,” said Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of the WHO Nutrition and Food Safety department. “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 fact that these forms of digital marketing can evade scrutiny from national monitoring and health authorities means new approaches to Code-implementing regulation and enforcement are required. Currently, national legislation may be evaded by marketing that originates beyond borders.
WHO has called on the baby food industry to end exploitative formula milk marketing, and urged governments to protect new children and families by enacting, monitoring and enforcing laws to end all advertising or other promotion of formula milk products.