ABSTRACT

Following the adoption of the Code in 1981, a few policy statements confirmed and reinforced its aim and principles of promotion of breastfeeding and prevention of inappropriate marketing of breast-milk substitutes. One of the recommendations of the 1979 meeting was to request WHO and UNICEF to prepare, in consultation with all the parties concerned, an international code of marketing of breast-milk substitutes. NGOs have played an essential role in the adoption of the Code, in supporting WHO and UNICEF and in monitoring the implementation of the Code. The Code was developed to promote the exclusive feeding of breast-milk from birth to four or six months of age and to protect mothers and health workers from commercial pressures by manufacturers of breast-milk substitutes. Since 1993, key UNICEF publications have recommended exclusive breastfeeding as follows: Breast-milk alone is the best possible food and drink for a baby.