Virginia

I hear you.  Indeed, who is protecting breastfeeding in China?  This 
should be a matter for international concern. Where is UNICEF in all 
this?  Or WHO?  Or the political clout at the topmost international 
level to divert what's coming?  Trade always seems to trump health 
concerns.  Formula will probably do more for population control in 
China than even they ever dreamed of.

You sound as frustrated as I used to be about the "export" of 
formula-feeding to countries and continents hit hard by HIV.  This 
exercise was masterminded originally by UNICEF and WHO as a mechanism 
for avoidance of transmission of postpartum HIV.  Except that there 
was never any intention to monitor, or to even record, the results to 
see whether it did good or harm.   I "saw" it as the export of 
harmful traditional practices of Western nations to unsophisticated 
peoples for whom it would be devastating, ie those where 
breastfeeding was a cornerstone of child survival.  It was done on 
the platform of human rights, using the language and the ideology 
that we use all the time, promoting the concept of the rightness of 
maternal choice of infant feeding method with freebies to enable the 
choice. Once the attractiveness of the concept had taken hold, then 
the free samples were withdrawn and governments or mothers themselves 
were expected to take over purchase of supplies.   And there has been 
an absolutely devastating effect on breastfeeding practices of those 
countries most badly affected.   It took a decade before there was 
even anyone brave enough to actually start documenting the scale of 
the disaster that ensued.  The first was the CDC, bless them and in 
Botswana, of all places!  And only now, almost a decade after that, 
are we starting to read review papers of the chaotic results.  But 
the planning was brilliant in the way that formula-feeding was talked 
up to the health ministries of unsuspecting  nations who trusted the 
international health agencies when they provided the fool-proof 
training courses, complete with funding and expertise to oil the 
wheels.  Reversing it all has been far less successful.  Support for 
successive policy changes admitting that formula causes more death 
than HIV-laced breastmilk has been conspicuous by its absence. And 
now, beyond finally issuing fresh recommendations to resume 
breastfeeding, the agencies have abandoned these same countries to 
conducting their own damage control because of course there's 
suddenly no more funding available to support a return to breastfeeding.

And now the disaster that's going to be the death of breastfeeding in 
China looms like a mushroom cloud on the horizon.  I have a good 
friend who follows this and he describes it as a tsunami.  Thank you 
for reminding us Virginia that we have a long history of supporting 
"trade" at the expense of the health consequences for less 
sophisticated nations.  I wonder what we can do about this one?

Pamela Morrison IBCLC
Rustington, England
--------------------------------------------
At 04:00 17/03/2014, you wrote:
>Date:    Mon, 17 Mar 2014 11:31:18 +1000
>From:    vgthorley <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Australian exports of powdered infant formula to China
>
>I'm just listening to a radio interview with someone from a dairy 
>milk factory in Victoria, Australia. He is talking up the positives 
>for his industry of exporting various dairy products to China, 
>including fresh, liquid cow's milk, powdered cow's milk for 
>household use - and powdered infant formula (PIF). The trend of 
>tourists and others sending large batches of  PIF home to relations 
>in China was mentioned, with the suggestion that this was beneficial 
>as people in some parts of China don't have access to PIF. From the 
>interview, he seemed to think of this as an essential. The man from 
>the dairy company was "all about marketing success", not what this 
>is doing to breastfeeding in an increasingly consumer economy.
>
>I've mentioned this on Lactnet before. I wonder how breastfeeding 
>rates, especially exclusive breastfeeding rates, in China in 2013 
>(when they are available) will compare with rates five years 
>ago.  Who is protecting breastfeeding against this rampant trade? 
>I'm angry about my country's increasing role in spreading the use of 
>breastmilk substitutes round the world, and lauding this as 
>"marketing" and "trade". In the 19th century it was opium that was 
>aggressively promoted as "trade" by European powers (long story). 
>Trade is not necessarily benign, whether on individuals or recipient 
>economies - as these examples remind us.
>
>Virginia
>in Brisbane


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