Have just been looking at the Nestle website. Here is what they say about formula in the developing world:
Does Nestle's promote Infant Formula to mothers in developing countries?
In order to reach developing world mothers who do need infant formula, while not promoting it to those who do not, Nestlé leaves the recommendation of appropriate breast milk substitutes to health professionals and for almost 20 years has stopped all promotion of infant formula to the public. This commitment to a ban on promotional activities means: no advertising, no store promotions, no price incentives, no ?milk nurses? and no educational materials mentioning infant formula.
What does Nestle do to promote breast-feeding?
Nestlé also supports the promotion of breastfeeding. A little-known fact is that Nestle is one of the largest private producers of breastfeeding promotional material in the world. Nestlé is also the largest private distributor of the WHO Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes in the world, having distributed tens of thousand of copies to educate both our staff and the health systems we deal with.
Does WHO say that 1.5 million babies die annually because of bottle-feeding?
One statistic - that the lives of 1.5 million babies could be saved if exclusive breastfeeding was successfully promoted - is often distorted to suggest the fault lies with infant formula marketing. This statistic is often attributed to the World Health Organisation. In fact, the WHO has clarified that it has never made such a statement either in relation to infant formula or to bottle feeding in general.
?... WHO has made no statement quantifying the impact on either morbidity or mortality of infants being fed on bona fide infant formula, i.e. breast-milk substitutes manufactured in accordance with the relevant standards of the Codex Alimentarius.
In contrast, WHO has estimated that [this] number of infant deaths... that could be averted annually through effective breast-feeding promotion, and this irrespective of the breast-milk substitutes used to feed them or, for that matter, the feeding utensils employed for this purpose".
(WHO, 19 November 1992)
How are most babies fed in the developing world?
The use of traditional foods by breastfeeding mothers at too early an age is the most prevalent problem in infant feeding, as the overwhelming majority of babies in Africa and elsewhere are both breastfed and given these traditional foods (or plain water) from the first months of life. This is the primary reason why mothers need to understand that exclusive breastfeeding until about 6 months, and introducing other foods no earlier than 4 months, is so important.
The fact that more infant formula is sold in Belgium, which has a population of 10 million, than in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa, covering a population of over 650 million, helps puts the sale and use of this product in developing countries into context. Even within sub-Saharan Africa, the sale of infant formula is highly concentrated in more affluent urban areas, including the approximately 10 million South Africans who have a middle or upper class standard of living. The sale of infant formula has been low in Africa and is not growing, primarily because the ability to purchase it is low, and the majority of women resort to the traditional foods listed above to supplement or substitute breast-milk.
Does anyone know if the company has been challenged on any of the above?. I find it difficult to know who to believe.