The World Health Organisation (WHO) has condemned the formula milk industry for exploiting parental concerns such as infant fussiness or poor sleep to promote products with unsubstantiated claims and inflated prices.
In a recent statement posted on WHO’s X handle, the organisation highlighted that formula brands often market their products as "premium," suggesting superior benefits that are not scientifically proven.
The organisation emphasised that many of these claims violate the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1981 to protect infant health and promote breastfeeding.
WHO says these marketing tactics prey on common parental anxieties, presenting formula milk as a solution to normal infant behaviours which undermines breastfeeding and misleads parents seeking the best for their children.
WHO's report reveals that formula milk companies are increasingly using digital platforms to reach parents. Between January and June 2021, over 4 million social media posts about infant feeding were analysed, reaching 2.47 billion people and generating more than 12 million interactions.
These posts often outnumber those promoting breastfeeding, creating a skewed perception of infant feeding options.
Despite evidence supporting the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, only 41% of infants under six months are exclusively breastfed—a rate WHO aims to increase to at least 50% by the end of 2025.
The aggressive marketing of formula milk continues to undermine these efforts.
WHO is urging governments worldwide to strengthen regulations to protect infants and parents from misleading marketing practices.
This includes enforcing laws that prohibit the promotion of formula milk, implementing policies to support breastfeeding, and ensuring health professionals are not influenced by industry sponsorship.