Yesterday, February 10, 2025, the WHO’s 156th Executive Board agreed to forward a draft Resolution Regulating the digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes to the 78th World Health Assembly in May of 2025. IBFAN has worked tirelessly with Member States over the past several years to see a draft resolution on this topic come to fruition. The draft Resolution moving on to the 78th WHA is proposed by 21 Member States (Armenia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Iraq, Lesotho, Mexico, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Uruguay and Vanuatu).
As noted by IBFAN leader, Patti Rundall, “Brazil has taken the lead in this Resolution and after organising numerous briefings with Member States, and disseminated the final draft text to all Member States on the 7th of February….The debate on its formal adoption will take place in May” (1).
The Draft Resolution contains many important paragraphs, which if finally adopted at the Assembly in May, can be used by health advocates to protect child health from corporate interference. To read more about the details contained in the Draft, please visit Baby Milk Actions’ Policy Blog: https://www.babymilkaction.org/archives/46341.
Sources: