Protecting Breastfeeding From Conflicts of Interest

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-28
Author(s):  
Lida Lhotska ◽  
Judith Richter ◽  
Maryse Arendt
Keyword(s):  
Infant Feeding ◽  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
World Health ◽  
Child Feeding ◽  
Young Child Feeding

In order to maximize profits from sales of breastmilk substitutes, manufacturers use a whole gamut of strategies to interfere with the effective implementation of policies that protect, promote, and support breastfeeding (e.g., the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes with its subsequent World Health Assembly resolutions and the Global Strategy on Infant and Young Child Feeding). Their strategies create, among other problems, personal and institutional conflicts of interest. Effective Conflict of Interest policies are therefore needed for ensuring that governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and health professionals can protect their independence, integrity, and credibility in order to work in the best interests of children. Conflicts of interest are discussed by Dr Lida Lhotska and Dr Judith Richter, who have been actively involved in these issues internationally. Lida Lhotska holds a BSc in Biology and a PhD in Anthropology. Her international work spans over 25 years. She headed the Infant Feeding and Care team for UNICEF and subsequently joined the IBFAN-Geneva Infant Feeding Association team, always focusing on advancing the protection of breastfeeding through legal and other policy measures. Judith Richter has a multidisciplinary background combining knowledge in the humanities with health sciences (PhD Social Sciences; MA Development Studies; MSc Pharmaceutical Sciences). Her work as a freelance researcher for United Nations agencies, governments, and civil society organizations and networks has centered on safeguarding their capacity to hold transnational corporations accountable. In her interview, Judith Richter explains why conflict of interest regulation matters to health professionals working in the field of lactation. (MA = Maryse Arendt; LL = Lida Lhotska; JR = Judith Richter)

PERCEIVED INSUFFICIENT MILK AS A BARRIER TO OPTIMAL INFANT FEEDING: EXAMPLES FROM BOLIVIA

2005 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARGARET F. McCANN ◽  
DEBORAH E. BENDER
Keyword(s):  
Infant Feeding ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
World Health ◽  
Child Feeding ◽  
Young Child Feeding ◽  
Infant And Young Child ◽  
Infant Feeding Decisions ◽  
Insufficient Milk ◽  
Research Recommendations ◽  
Urgent Action

In its recently adopted Global Strategy on Infant and Young Child Feeding, the World Health Assembly called for urgent action in addressing the barriers to optimal feeding practices. This paper examines mothers’ concerns about milk insufficiency as a major contributor to suboptimal infant feeding decisions, using survey data from periurban areas of two Bolivian cities. Mothers in the lowland modernizing city of Santa Cruz were more likely than mothers in the highland traditional city of Cochabamba to express concern about insufficient milk, and also less likely to feed their infants according to international recommendations. Furthermore, perceived milk insufficiency was particularly common among mothers of infants younger than 6 months of age – an age at which infants are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of breast-feeding cessation and complementary feeding initiation. The paper concludes with policy, programme and research recommendations to address the critical problem of perceived insufficient breast milk.

scholarly journals Protection, promotion and support of breast-feeding in Europe: current situation

2005 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriano Cattaneo ◽  
Agneta Yngve ◽  
Berthold Koletzko ◽  
Luis Ruiz Guzman
Keyword(s):  
Young Child ◽  
Breast Feeding ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
World Health ◽  
Child Feeding ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Young Child Feeding ◽  
Infant And Young Child ◽  
Service Training

AbstractObjective:To describe the current situation regarding protection, promotion and support of breast-feeding in Europe, as a first step towards the development of a blueprint for action.Design and setting:A questionnaire was completed by 29 key informants and 128 other informants in the EU, including member states, accession and candidate countries.Results:EU countries do not fully comply with the policies and recommendations of the Global Strategy on Infant and Young Child Feeding that they endorsed during the 55th World Health Assembly in 2002. Some countries do not even comply with the targets of the Innocenti Declaration (1990). Pre-service training on breast-feeding practice is inadequate and in-service training achieves only low to medium coverage. The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative is well developed only in three countries; in 19 countries, less than 15% of births occur in baby-friendly hospitals. The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, endorsed in 1981 by all countries, is not fully applied and submitted to independent monitoring. The legislation for working mothers meets on average the International Labour Organization standards, but covers only women with full formal employment. Voluntary mother-to-mother support groups and trained peer counsellors are present in 27 and 13 countries, respectively. Breast-feeding rates span over a wide range; comparisons are difficult due to use of non-standard methods. The rate of exclusive breast-feeding at 6 months is low everywhere, even in countries with high initiation rates.Conclusions:EU countries need to revise their policies and practices to meet the principles inscribed in the Global Strategy on Infant and Young Child Feeding in order to better protect, promote and support breast-feeding.

scholarly journals Determinan pemberian ASI eksklusif pada ibu menyusui di Puskesmas I Denpasar Barat

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Ari Febriyanti NM ◽  
Ayu Sugiartini NK
Keyword(s):  
Young Child ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
World Health ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Child Feeding ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Young Child Feeding ◽  
Infant And Young Child ◽  
Health Organization

ASI merupakan makanan terbaik yang dapat membantu proses pertumbuhan dan perkembangan bayi. World Health Organization (WHO) merekomendasikan Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding yang merupakan empat hal esensial dalam pemberian makanan bayi dan anak, salah satunya adalah pemberian ASI saja kepada bayi sampai umur 6 bulan, atau yang disebut dengan ASI ekslusif. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengetahui determinan pemberian ASI Eksklusif pada ibu menyusui. Desain penelitian ini adalah cross-sectional analitik. Subjek penelitian menggunakan 80 ibu yang memiliki bayi umur 6-12 bulan di Puskesmas I Denpasar Barat dengan analisis yang digunakan adalah chi-square dan regresi poisson. Hasil penelitian didapatkan sebagian besar (55,0%) tidak memberikan ASI Eksklusif pada bayinya. Hasil bivariat menunjukkan terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara pendidikan (p= 0,00), pengetahuan (p= 0,00), persepsi (p= 0,00), dukungan suami (p= 0,04), keterpaparan informasi (p= 0,00) dengan pemberian ASI Eksklusif. Faktor dominan yang mempengaruhi pemberian ASI Eksklusif yaitu persepsi dengan nilai p= 0,01 (aPR= 6,49 95%CI: 1,3-31,8).

scholarly journals Rights for whom? Linking baby’s right to eat with economic, social, and cultural rights for women

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-18
Author(s):  
Christina Doonan
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Studies ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
World Health ◽  
Child Feeding ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Young Child Feeding ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Custom Made ◽  
The Right

Breastfeeding women are primary food producers par excellence, delivering a custom-made product to fit the exact needs of a favoured clientele. The importance of breastmilk as a first food has been acknowledged in recent years by many states, which have taken measures to protect and encourage breastfeeding in acknowledgment of the World Health Organization’s 2002 Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding. Within both state and grassroots efforts to promote it, breastfeeding is often framed in terms of “rights,” though it is not always clear what these entail. This perspective article considers the role of breastmilk as a critical food for children that ensures their “right to the highest attainable standard of health” as articulated in Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and interrogates mothers’ (and others’) role in providing it. While food studies, and even more so, food security scholarship and activism should incorporate breastfeeding scholarship, it should avoid the mistake of framing breastfeeding as a “choice” made by individual women. This article advocates incorporating breastfeeding into the right to food/food security agenda by explicitly supporting measures that increase women’s access to broader economic, social, and cultural (ESC) rights. This, in turn, would put breastfeeding within reach, as an option, for more women. Thus breastfeeding becomes more likely and pressure is diverted from individual mothers and the often false ‘choice’ to breastfeed.

Preventing and Managing Conflict of Interest in Nutrition Policy: Lessons for Alcohol Control Comment on "Towards Preventing and Managing Conflict of Interest in Nutrition Policy? An Analysis of Submissions to a Consultation on a Draft WHO Tool"

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Severi
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Nutrition Policy ◽  
Alcohol Policy ◽  
World Health ◽  
Alcohol Control ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Industry Engagement ◽  
Health Organization

Ralston et al present an analysis of policy actor responses to a draft World Health Organization (WHO) tool to prevent and manage conflicts of interest (COI) in nutrition policy. While the Ralston et al study is focussed explicitly on food and nutrition, the issues and concepts addressed are relevant also to alcohol policy debates and present an important opportunity for shared learning across unhealthy commodity industries in order to protect and improve population health. This commentary addresses the importance of understanding how alcohol policy actors – especially decision-makers – perceive COI in relation to alcohol industry engagement in policy. A better understanding of such perceptions may help to inform the development of guidelines to identify, manage and protect against risks associated with COI in alcohol policy.

Management of Conflicts of Interest in WHO’s Consultative Processes on Global Alcohol Policy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
June YY Leung ◽  
Sally Casswell
Keyword(s):  
Policy Development ◽  
Tobacco Industry ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
Alcohol Policy ◽  
World Health ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Alcohol Industry ◽  
State Actors

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) has engaged in consultations with the alcohol industry in global alcohol policy development, including currently a draft action plan to strengthen implementation of the Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. WHO’s Framework for Engagement with Non-State Actors (FENSA) is an organization-wide policy that aims to manage potential conflicts of interest in WHO’s interactions with private sector entities, non-governmental institutions, philanthropic foundations and academic institutions. Methods We analysed the alignment of WHO’s consultative processes with non-state actors on "the way forward" for alcohol policy and a global alcohol action plan with FENSA. We referred to publicly accessible WHO documents, including the Alcohol, Drugs and Addictive Behaviours Unit website, records of relevant meetings, and other documents relevant to FENSA. We documented submissions to two web-based consultations held in 2019 and 2020 by type of organization and links to the alcohol industry. Results WHO’s processes to conduct due diligence, risk assessment and risk management as required by FENSA appeared to be inadequate. Limited information was published on nonstate actors, primarily the alcohol industry, that participated in the consultations, including their potential conflicts of interest. No minutes were published for WHO’s virtual meeting with the alcohol industry, suggesting a lack of transparency. Organizations with known links to the tobacco industry participated in both web-based consultations, despite FENSA’s principle of non-engagement with tobacco industry actors. Conclusion WHO’s consultative processes have not been adequate to address conflicts of interest in relation to the alcohol industry, violating the principles of FENSA. Member states must ensure that WHO has the resources to implement and is held accountable for appropriate and consistent safeguards against industry interference in the development of global alcohol policy.

scholarly journals Infant and Young Child Feeding in Croatian Nursing Programs

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-133
Author(s):  
Ana Vidović Roguljić ◽  
Irena Zakarija-Grković
Keyword(s):  
Young Child ◽  
Infant Feeding ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Nursing Programs ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Child Feeding ◽  
Young Child Feeding ◽  
Undergraduate Nursing ◽  
Nursing Curricula ◽  
Infant And Young Child

Introduction. Breastfeeding rates in Croatia are far from WHO recommendations, with only 8% of women exclusively breastfeeding at 6 months. Nurses play a key role in supporting optimal infant feeding; therefore, their undergraduate training should cover this topic. Aim. The aim of this study was to determine if infant feeding is part of undergraduate nursing programs in Croatia, and to analyse relevant textbooks. Methods. Between January and March 2019, all publicly available nursing undergraduate curricula (N=9) for the 2018/2019 academic year were assessed. Required textbooks were analysed by two independent assessors using the WHO Infant and Young Child Feeding: Model Chapter for textbooks for medical students and allied health professionals. Results. Infant feeding was included in all the curricula. The mean number of topics from the Model Chapter covered in the four evaluated textbooks was 30.4%, of which 2.7% were classified as correct and thorough, 21% as correct and brief, and 6.7% as incorrect. Fields most poorly covered were: ‘Policy, health system and community actions’ and ‘Appropriate feeding in exceptionally difficult circumstances’. Discussion. This is one of only a few published studies looking at nursing textbook content related to infant feeding. Less than a third of topics, considered mandatory for health professional education, were covered in the required textbooks. Conclusion. Even though infant feeding was part of all assessed nursing curricula in Croatia, the required textbooks were largely outdated, incomplete and at times incorrect.

scholarly journals Are our babies off to a healthy start? The state of implementation of the Global strategy for infant and young child feeding in Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irena Zakarija-Grković ◽  
Adriano Cattaneo ◽  
Maria Enrica Bettinelli ◽  
Claudia Pilato ◽  
Charlene Vassallo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Child ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
The State ◽  
Healthy Start ◽  
Child Feeding ◽  
Young Child Feeding ◽  
Infant And Young Child

scholarly journals National Recommendations for Infant and Young Child Feeding in the World Health Organization European Region

2020 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
Berthold Koletzko ◽  
Nathali Lehmann Hirsch ◽  
Jo Martin Jewell ◽  
Quenia Dos Santos ◽  
João Breda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Child ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
World Health ◽  
European Region ◽  
Child Feeding ◽  
Young Child Feeding ◽  
Infant And Young Child ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

Care and not wealth is a predictor of wasting and stunting of ‘The Coffee Kids’ of Jimma Zone, southwest Ethiopia

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kalkidan Hassen Abate ◽  
Tefera Belachew
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Diversity ◽  
World Health ◽  
Feeding Practice ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Child Feeding ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Southwest Ethiopia ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Young Child Feeding ◽  
Jimma Zone

Background: The generation of cash from agricultural products is the mainstay of the livelihood of many households in developing countries. However, critics of cash cropping have highlighted its influence on dietary diversity and availability of food at the household level, eroding the potential for optimal child caring practices. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey was carried out in three randomly selected coffee-producing districts of Jimma Zone in southwest Ethiopia. The underlying causes of malnutrition, food access, hygiene and care were assessed using the household food insecurity access scale, morbidity reports and infant and young child feeding practice core indicators of the World Health Organization. Anthropometric data were converted into weight for age, height for age, body mass index for age and weight for height Z-scores to determine child nutritional outcomes. Results: Prevalence of underweight, wasting, stunting and thinness were 14.2%, 9.1%, 24.1% and 9.9%, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression showed that children with suboptimal meal frequency were more than three times more likely to develop wasting (AOR = 3.3, p < 0.0001). Female children were twice as likely to develop wasting compared with males (AOR = 2.00, 4.1, p = 0.05). Children with suboptimal dietary diversity were almost four times as likely to develop stunting (AOR = 3.95, p < 0.0001). Those who were not exclusively breastfed during their first 6 months were almost five times as likely to develop stunting (AOR = 4.66, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The findings imply that in coffee-producing areas, child caring practices are stronger independent predictors of nutritional status than wealth or economic indicators alone.

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