ILCA welcomes WHO’s 2023 Guidance on digital marketing of BMS.

WHO’s 2022 report on digital marketing of BMS showed how dominant digital marketing is; it increases sales and decreases breastfeeding; BMS companies use insidious methods to promote their products, often not recognizable as advertising; and digital marketing can escape scrutiny from enforcement.

To protect breastfeeding and its impacts on maternal and child health and rights, we call on member states to incorporate the Guidance into legislation so BMS companies can no longer circumvent the Code. We commend Brazil’s announcement to include this in a resolution in 2025.

We also call on member states to accelerate progress on the global MIYCN targets and respond to the proposal for process indicators.