Worried by the increasing substitution of wholesome mother's milk with risky infant food formula, health activists met in Bangkok, Thailand, last month to find ways to better promote the natural way of baby feeding.
The WABA Global Forum, a five-year-old international alliance of groups and individuals. sought ways to take the message of breastfeeding to governments, policymakers and health professionals, and to protect the practice of breastfeeding in communities where it is still widely prevalent.
The Forum reviewed the evidence of the value of breastfeeding, examined the market forces that shapes consumers' food choices and identified successful national efforts to control marketing of foods for health and ethical reasons. More than 350 participants from all over the world were present.
Most of them are creating communications campaigns for breastfeeding in their own countries. (WABA, 212/789-9000)