Sue Reiske,

you asked if a donation of cases of formula to a school auction was an
infringement of the WHO code.

Article five of the code applies to contact between companies and the general
public.:

5.2
manufacturers and distributors should not provide, directly or indirectly, to
pregnant women, mothers or members of their families, samples of products within
the scope of this code."

5.3...."there should be no...promotional device to induce sales directly to the
consumer....."

5.5  " Marketing personnel, in their business capacity, should not seek direct
or indirect contact of any kind with pregnant women or with mothers of infants
and young children."

Every two years the World Health Assembly meet and consider the current
situation on the issues of the WHO code.  In 1986, 1990, and 1994 the WHA
resolutions explictly mention the question of free or low-cost supplies of baby
milk or other products covered by the Code.  These were identified as  a major
way companies were flouting the spirit and intention of the Code, without the,
then, letter (WHA resolutions have the same force as the Code, so when new
violations are identified, remedies are detailed in the resolutions).

It may be that these cases were a one off, through some individual employee.  On
the other hand, most of the attention of the WHO code and resolutions focusses
on the health care system, so the idea of using alternative systems may be under
test.

Remember, too, that the US has not got the WHO code as legislation, they have
merely endorsed the code at the World Health Assembly.  In the UK we have
government legislation which differs from the Code in many respects, so getting
anyone in authority to take the code seriously is hard: "Well, it doesn't break
British law, and isn't the Code for the third world"  sort of arguement.

I say the donation is contrary to WHO intentions.

The Code seeks to protect all babies.  What if a mother got that milk, and
because those cases were cheaper, started to feed her baby on that milk.  Now,
maybe the original decision to feed her baby X brand had been taken on some
medical or scientific ground due to the particular formulation (isn't this what
babies deserve?  that their sole form of nutrition for the first months of life
be chosen on the grounds that it is best for their health???), now the mother
changes, because the product was, in effect, discounted at that school auction,
and the baby's health could suffer.  The WHO Code ( I will just say this again,
as I believe it is often not well understood) is about protecting the health of
ALL babies from the effects of inappropriate marketing on the choices made
regarding how they are fed.

Just because the Code is now 18 years old doesn't mean that it is not
continually being tested by companies who try to work their way around the
provisions which are intended to give babies some protection but which limit
commercial freedom to make the maximum profit without any counting of health or
social costs.

Usually, if you think it breaks the code, it is likely to be against the spirit
of the Code, and the violation may be covered in a WHA resolution.

Sincerely,

Magda Sachs
Breastfeeding Supporter and Baby Milk Action (IBFAN) Area Contact
Uppermill, Saddleworth, Near Oldham, UK