The battle for the best: Breast-feeding or bottle?

By Fr. Shay Cullen

OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines - Why would multinational corporations interfere in the sovereign and internal affairs of the Philippines? There is only one answer to that and it is to protect their sales, profits and shareholders. How many children suffer as a result? None are more deserving to be taken to task and held responsible for their alleged abuse of power than the baby formula manufacturing companies. The essential of life for millions of infants is mother’s milk but the corporations and their local subsidiaries making baby formula advertise in a manner that can get babies hooked on their powdered infant formula as a substitute breast feeding. This as many know can be detrimental to the health and well being for hundreds of thousands of babies. Mother’s milk passes on to the child immunity to diseases so essential in the poorer communities in the world where health services are practically non-existent.

Of course the corporations selling baby formula deny such accusations. They say they comply with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) code of conduct. However critics say that their compliance is frequently undermined by their marketing tactics. Baby Milk Action and International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) are coordinating an international boycott of the biggest corporation peddling baby milk formula - Nestle. They say on their home page that the boycott is running in 19 countries. ´The boycott will continue until Nestle ends its irresponsible marketing of breast milk substitutes world-wide and abides by the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and subsequent Resolutions in policy and practice. The Boycott is supported in the UK by over 100 church, health and consumer groups, over 90 businesses, 80 student unions, 17 local authorities, 12 trade unions, 74 politicians and political parties and many celebrities¡.

Advertising is the main way that Nestle and other corporations convince mothers who can breast feed that the bottle is best. It became so effective that breast-feeding dropped and mortality rates for children one to two years old vastly increased. In response the World Health Organization brought out a code of advertising conduct many years ago for these corporations to follow.

-No public advertising of breast milk substitutes, bottles or nipples.
-No free formula samples to new mothers.
-No promotion of formula products in health care facilities.
-No nurses employed by formula manufacturers to advise new mothers.
-No distribution of formula gift packs or samples to health care workers.
-No words or infant pictures on product labels idealizing formula feeding.
-Only scientific and factual information on feeding methods should be given to health care workers.
-All information on formula feeding, including labels should explain the associated costs and hazards.
-Unsuitable products, such as sweetened condensed milk, should not be promoted for infant feeding.
-All formula products should be of high quality and take into account the climatic and storage conditions of the country where it might be used.

Since then the corporations have invented ingenious ways to circumvent the code. To counteract these tactics in July 2006 the Philippine Government Department of Health (DOH) brought out new restrictions on dubious marketing practices by revising the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) of Executive Order (EO) 51 or the Milk Code. Multinationals Abbot Ross, Mead Johnson, Wyeth, and Gerber (subsidiary of Nestle) struck back through the Pharmaceuticals Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP).

They brought a legal challenge to the Supreme Court of the Philippines demanding an injunction against the implementation of the rules and regulations to protect children. The implementing rules would unfairly hurt their business they said. The Supreme Court said children come first before business and refused the injunction.

Infuriated, the corporations using the US Chamber of Commerce on 11 August 2006 wrote to President Gloria Arroyo threatening that investments would suffer because of the court decision. Four days later on 15 August the Supreme Court reversed itself and granted a temporary restraining order against the Department of Health (DOH). Until the court action is settled the DOH cannot act to protect Filipino children. That’s how it stands today. Who is the real power in the Philippines?

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Contact Fr. Shay Cullen at the Preda Center, Upper Kalaklan, Olongapo City, Philippines.
e-mail: preda@info.com.ph
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PREDA Information Office
PREDA Foundation, Inc.
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