Marketing of breast-milk substitutes: national implementation of the international code, status report 2018

Overview

This report provides updated information on the status of implementing the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent relevant World Health Assembly resolutions (“the Code”) in and by countries. The report documents the adoption of new legislation implementing the Code in a few countries since 2016, and formulation of additional measures to strengthen existing legislation in others. It also provides a regional perspective on the legal status of the Code, and in countries where such information is available, the extent to which Code provisions have been incorporated in national legal measures.

A preliminary analysis of selected legal provisions in those countries where complementary foods are listed as designated products in their Code-related legislation is also documented. This serves as a baseline assessment of the 2016 Guidance on ending inappropriate promotion of foods for infants and young children (“the Guidance”) and provides a useful starting point to assess the extent to which the current legal and regulatory landscape in countries is supportive of effective implementation of the recommendations of the Guidance.