Best law, poor enforcement

Bangladesh has adopted world’s one of the ‘best’ laws to check aggressive marketing of breast milk substitutes, but challenges remain in its enforcement, experts say.

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Chairperson of Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation (BBF) Dr SK Roy told bdnews24.com that as per the law children under-5 cannot be the target of baby food companies marketing strategy.

“Usually breast milk substitute codes aim at children under-2, but this time the age limit has been extended,” he said and that the law also heightened the punishment for violation.

“If any baby falls sick or dies after consuming baby food, the punishment will be 10 years of imprisonment or a fine of Tk 5 million or both”.

This law completely banned any form of advertising of baby food targeting children under-5 year and stopped sponsoring doctors’ in any way from academic exercises to overseas trips.

The punishment for violation is three years of imprisonment or Tk 0.5 million fine or both.

“If a violator repeat the offence, the punishment will be doubled,” Dr Roy said as he termed it world’s one of the ‘best’ law against baby food companies.

But he remained sceptical about its enforcement. “We always found it hard to enforce even earlier ordinances,” the Chairperson of the BBF, only professional body that promotes breast milk, said.

Parliament passed the law on September 17 and the government notified gazettes on September 22 enforcing it with immediate effect, scraping the earlier 1984 ordinance.

“There is weakness in the system,” he said and that they drew the attention of the Institute of Public Health and Nutrition (IPHN) towards many law breakers, but the institute did not file cases to avoid attending court regularly.

“They (IPHN) also lack manpower,” he said and proposed that the government should empower the institute with some powers like to arrest the law breakers.

Activists had long been demanding revision of the 1984 ordinance as they attributed aggressive marketing of the baby food companies to the low breastfeeding rate.

Bangladesh’s exclusive breastfeeding rate has been hovering at around 45 percent for more than 15 years until recently when survey found the rate jumped to 64 percent.

The new law came as a gift for the activists.

Paediatrician Prof Soofia Khatoon who is the Secretary General of the BBF said “now we have tools to fight against baby food companies. We have to make full use of the law”.

She said the earlier ordinance was too weak to fight against the law breakers.

Baby food advertisement is so unregulated that often it shows a school boy rushing to a doctor’s chamber for something that can increase his heights as he faces constant tease and taunts from his peers for his short height.

Then the advertisement goes on to show doctor immediately prescribing him a food supplement.

The new law does not cover school going children, but it restricts advertisement targeting children less than 5 years of age.

Bangladesh is home to the world’s one of the most malnourished children with nearly half of its under-5 children are underweight and too short for their age.

According to the new law, there will be no advertisement for baby foods, commercially produced supplementary baby foods and import of its tools and no one can be engaged in this activities.

It says the baby food-producing or importing companies cannot use health service or medicine selling centres for its promotion and advertising.

The law also proposed to form a nine-member national advisory committee, headed by a chairman, to ensure its implementation.

The IPHN is the key authority to implement it.

Dr S M Mustafizur Rahman, Program Manager of National Nutrition Services (NNS), that also covers IPHN, said they alone cannot enforce the law.

“We need all-out support of all departments,” he said.

“At districts, civil surgeons are authorised to see the violation of the law. In City Corporation areas, Chief Health Officer is responsible for that,” he said and that with the scanty manpower, “IPHN alone cannot monitor even a part of the Dhaka city”.

He said the Breastfeeding Foundation cannot enforce the law as IPHN is the only authority to do so. “They (BBF) can be the investigative authority. But to be designated for that, they have to come through a process”.

Source: bdnews24