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 been incorporated in national legal measures. The report examines further the processes countries use to monitor and enforce compliance with Code laws. The report also provides case-studies from a few countries on their legislative processes, highlighting examples of interference from manufacturers and distributors of breast-milk substitutes in efforts to weaken and delay Code implementation.

Digital technologies are increasingly used for marketing food products throughout the world. Although the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes specifies that there should be no advertising or other form of promotion of breast-milk substitutes to the general public, the Code does not directly address many of the specific strategies used in digital marketing. In November 2020, the World Health Assembly requested that WHO review current evidence and prepare a report describing how digital marketing strategies are being used for the promotion of breast-milk substitutes. This report examines in greater depth the scope, techniques and impact of digital marketing strategies for the promotion of breast-milk substitutes.

WHO and UNICEF jointly developed this global strategy to focus world attention on the impact that feeding practices have on the nutritional status, growth and development, health, and thus the very survival of infants and young children. The strategy is the result of a comprehensive two-year participatory process. It is based on the evidence of nutrition's significance in the early months and years of life, and of the crucial role that appropriate feeding practices play in achieving optimal health outcomes. The strategy is intended as a guide for action; it identifies interventions with a proven positive impact; it emphasizes providing mothers and families the support they need to carry out their crucial roles, and it explicitly defines the obligations and responsibilities in this regards of governments, international organizations, and other concerned parties.