Marketing of breast-milk substitutes: national implementation of the International Code, status report 2026 Published by WHO, Unicef and IBFAN Abstract: Inappropriate marketing of breast-milk substitutes remains a significant public health concern, with implications for breastfeeding practices and maternal and child health outcomes. This status report presents a global assessment of the extent to which countries […]
These are the first national recommendations on inclusion and exclusion criteria for home birth, published on May 15, 2025. Home birth provides a personal and self-determined birth experience in a familiar environment. Medical interventions and disruptions to the physiological process of childbirth are avoided as far as possible. This can have a lasting effect on […]
A healthy lifestyle includes a balanced and varied diet. The Swiss Dietary Recommendations take a holistic approach: the consumption of fresh, healthy foods, an active lifestyle and sustainability. The Swiss Food Pyramid provides a visual aid for the Dietary Recommendations to help consumers put these into practice. https://www.blv.admin.ch/blv/en/home/lebensmittel-und-ernaehrung/ernaehrung/empfehlungen-informationen/schweizer-ernaehrungsempfehlungen.html
This brief describes how six Health Care Professional Associations (HCPA), in different countries and years, carried out a process that led to an end of their collaboration with companies that market foods for infants and young children as far as sponsorship of HCPA events are concerned. The six case studies were drafted by members of […]
This brief offers suggestions as to how a healthcare association can fund educational programmes, congresses, conferences, and other meetings without sponsorship by companies that market foods for infants and young children. To organize an effective and financially viable meeting, careful planning is an important start. Meeting goals of advocacy, education, networking, and social engagement can […]
Sponsorship of health professional associations by manufacturers and distributors of commercial milk formula: model policy. Sponsorship is a commercial transaction in which financial or in-kind contributions made to a person, event, project, or activity aim to generate goodwill for a brand among a group of people who can influence purchasing behaviour in others and promote […]
This report provides updated information on the status of implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (BMS) and subsequent relevant World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions (collectively referred to as “the Code”) in countries. It presents the legal status of the Code, including the extent to which the provisions of the Code have […]
A new WHO report on the marketing of breast-milk substitutes in Morocco has been published in French: ‘La façon dont le marketing des substituts du lait maternel influence nos décisions en matière d’alimentation des nourrissons: Rapport sur le Maroc’. For decades, women have been the main targets of breast-milk substitute marketing. The strategies used aim […]
Complementary feeding, defined as the process of providing foods in addition to milk when breast milk or milk formula alone are no longer adequate to meet nutritional requirements, generally starts at age 6 months and continues until 23 months of age. This is a developmental period when it is critical for children to learn to […]
What I Should Know About ‘the Code’ A guide to implementation, compliance and identifying violations. UNICEF 2023 Packed with clear, accessible information, this 20-page guide consolidates the provisions of the Code, WHA resolutions, and the Guidance in one place. It outlines main provisions of these documents and provides specific guidance for four key audiences: governments; […]
