On May 26, 2025, members of the IBFAN global team rejoiced in Geneva, and through a shared group chat, as the World Health Assembly’s Member States voted favorably on expanding the Code to cover digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes (“BMS”).
The full text of the resolution can be found here: https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB156/B156_CONF16Rev1-en.pdf
Patti Rundall, Policy Director of IBFAN UK, writes:
“Over recent years, new tactics for digital marketing have proliferated, for instance through influencer endorsements, virtual “support groups”, and personal targeting of pregnant women and new parents across their social media feeds. Many of these promotions are funded by baby food companies but their sponsorship is undisclosed. Advertisements are widely circulated across national borders – creating new challenges for regulation.
In line with recent guidance from WHO, the 2025 Resolution calls for robust efforts to develop, strengthen and coordinate the regulation of digital marketing to protect children’s health. It calls on countries to build effective systems for monitoring and enforcement.
Despite the existence of the Code, a major study from WHO and UNICEF found that over half of new parents had been exposed to promotions from formula milk companies. In some countries, this was over 90%. The new Resolution covers the marketing of formula milks, teats and bottles, as well as foods for infants and young children.”
Source: https://www.babymilkaction.org/archives/46980
This Resolution is a huge milestone and marker of success for IBFAN.