Haiti - F*****g Nestle is at it already.

[foxytocin]

here now what can I do about it?

It's still 'stuff'. Which is blocking up the airports and needs moving to wherever it is needed. It doesn't matter what it is - if there is a co-ordinated aid effort, companies 'generously' donating their products is much more about PR than about a genuine desire to help. Cash donations have a short PR life. Products with the Nestle logo all over them have much greater PR value.

So would you rather companies didn't donate at all? Seriously

And Tiktok since you say the babies who need formula should get it, then formula will be needed

I don't see a problem, if it saves lives of babbies then i think they are doing a good job.

I would rather companies listen to the aid agencies and donate whatever they are asked to donate - and if that is cash, then they give cash. Multinational food corporations are not experts on disaster relief and it is hugely arrogant (not to mention really pretty vile) to ignore advice from those co-ordinating the relief effort and make donations of their own products, whatever they may be.

if bf is so entrenched in Haitian culture would it be wrong to think that once things have calmed down a bit those babies who have been on emergency forumla (with the clean bottle water provided) can switch back to breast milk when a wet nurse/relactating relative has been sourced? Wouldn't the family ensure this happens? I wouldn't expect them to sort this out NOW because well fuck me there has been a massive massive disaster in their country, thousands upon thousands of people are dead, it is fucking chaos. I'm sure many people are having trouble keeping themselves right now.

Surely in the short term any help is better than none provided it is carried out under the correct protocol?

I do understand the wider issues here, but please, give these guys a break - just for now.

Companies should donate on the basis of need - and take advice from the aid agencies. Multinationals - inc Nestle - do not have a good track record. They may make things worse. I think there is a case for donations in kind - see the Red Cross blog for more details.

Marne - you have clearly not read the thread. It may not save the lives of babies or anyone else. Formula, in particular, needs distribution according to careful international protocols which safeguard health and which avoid adding to the risks of death and disease - overloading the hospitals and medical services.

MissWooWoo - read the links, please.

The answer to your question - can't they just go back to bf afterwards? - is that if formula is the only available milk then of course it should be given. No one is saying 'let the babies go without because there is no nearby relative to help'. But the situation is urgent, because that baby could die or become v. ill from the formula.

Where are they 'viley' ignoring advice?
They have offered $150,000 of food products and a further US $100,000 in cash and $1 million in bottled water, and blood, and are working with aid organizations.

If the aid agencies have asked them to provide this, if this is in direct response to their requests, then great. I see no mention of that in their press release.

Honestly there is a huge amount of naivety about global organisations on this thread - and I'm not talking just about Nestle.

I see a huge amount of naivety about conditions in Haiti both pre and post the eathquake

I have no idea if MrsS means me.

But I am not naive.

In another life, I have worked with a major NGO (I won't name them but it's a massive one) in a crisis area (not Haiti or the Caribbean), and I have researched maternal and infant health initiatives. I know from this experience (if I did not know already) that it really is not enough to accept whatever is given, without question. Nestle may well be working closely with the aid agencies - good. Keeping an eye on them to make sure their interventions are safe is important.

I also have family members who work closely with another NGO elsewhere, under (sometimes) emergency conditions (eg floods) where there is already endemic poverty. In that particular area (not the one where I worked) relactation and wet nursing was not unusual and actually, no one needed to be taught how to do it. This was part of folk wisdom. This may or may not be the case in Haiti. They would not have had a clue how to formula feed safely though.

The last thing to do is to receive gifts of formula, food and water and no questions asked, on the basis that anything is better than nothing.

It's the height of naivety to do this.

MrsS. I grew up in the 3rd world, not far from Haiti. I didn't migrate permanently to the UK till I was 28. I think I have a clue though where i grew up is not as poor as Haiti, some people where I grew up are as poor as the avg Haitian.

We have had massive hurricanes where I lived. In view of what I know about breastfeeding, natural disasters, poor infrastructure, the cultures where family and neighbours are your only means of social security, the way multinationals work in small countries, well, I am glad that Nestle is giving Money to humanitarian organisations.

I can't however help but wonder if all the water, adult and child supplements are unbranded or if they are branded 'Nestle' somewhere on the outside.

As we say back home, I sleep with my own eye.

The pepsi water might also be branded
the water purification tablets from Gamble&Proctor may be labelled
There's a massive list of co-oporations donating transport, medicines etc etc to the Red Cross.

and your point is, paisleyleaf?

Pepsi nor P&G make infant formula.

Nestle does. A lot esp in the 3rd world.

You asked if the water might be branded.

So because Nestle make formula they shouldn't be allowed to donate?

I didn't say taht mrss. I said I think they should donate unbranded stuff.

I would prefer they donated stuff that would aid in the purifying of water that is already available. I repeat water is heavy to transport. Who is providing the fuel that needs to go into the lorries carrying bottled water? How is that fuel getting into haiti and distributed into lorries?

Oh, it will be the poor Haitian's fault when all this water can't be distributed though they need it so bad.

It rains a lot in Haiti. They are still in the rainy season. Water that is already all around them in the next downpour only need vessels in which they can be stored and purified.

Household bleach can do it.

oh sorry, nestle doesn't make bleach.

so what unbranded formula do you propose, id rather a company that is known and their formula used worldwide and is proven to be safe, than that of a lesser known one.

All formula is branded, and is out to make money, be it nestle or Gerber.

why on earth does it matter if its a branded milk or not, all companies who make milk are out to make a buck, a hefty one at that, its completely irrelevant, Im gad the big companies are doing something, as they can cope with the supply and demand and also donate more to the catastrophe that is haiti.

The problem here is, the word nestle any other unknown company would not be a problem, did you know that coca cola, Kellogg's, wall mart, abbot pharmaceutical, Heinz, McDonalds, Tesco, Toys R Us, + all other corporations, banks, companies etc..... ALL have donated cash and goods, all even tho have donated will be getting publicity in somewhere or another from their donations.

Its aid none the less and if you have a look at the BCLC Blog>> Haiti, it says that nestle have donated $1,million in bottle water.

Its needed, yes their is a wider issue, and hopefully WHO and aid workers will keep the bigger issue in the forefront of their minds.

Hopefully the WHO and other aid organisations have learnt from Africa diabolical, as atm its all assumptions.

Not part of the general conversation, but thanks for all the excellent links posted here. They have helped me to understand the issues much more clearly and will help me to convey this to as many people as I can.

I have nothing to add, just wanted to say thanks .

Agree with ProcessYellow- thanks for the links. And many thanks to Tiktok and everyone else for your patient explanations.

So- if the aid companies are aware of this issue, how much power do they have to stop nestle from distributing the milk in the wrong way? And is there anything I can do about it- somewhere to add a complaint if it's not done appropriately?

What would you complain about Pozzled? That big companies including one that makes ... formula ... are donating money and goods to Haiti

Would you rather they didn't? And would you honestly rather no formula was distributed to Haiti?

It's about compromises - you may not like Nestle, but in this situation you have to do the best you can with what you have

Pozzled, Im unsure tbh, I cant give you a answer to that, formula is needed worldwide, in some circumstances, Yes BF should always be the main concern.

I dont know what your going to complain about in this instance tbh.

Hopefully AID, and the WHO have learnt from Africa.

Is Nestle giving 300k? That's a pish poor effort imo considering how wealthy the company is.

And they have a history of giving out of date products.....will find link.

This is a tiny gesture that could well have massive returns for the company. Believe me, there is no company more likely than Nestle to consider the returns of a disaster like this.

How would you know Pozzled? "if it's not done appropriately"
Are you going there or a part of an aid agency?