Conference hears of "infant's right to be breastfed"

The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) declared on Friday that it should be the human right of an infant to be breastfed. The declaration was contained in a draft statement issued at the end of a weeklong conference in Dar es Salaam on the challenges of breastfeeding in the 21st century. "This means that parties such as mothers, fathers, families, communities, governments and the international community have duties to respect, protect and facilitate the right of the infant to be breastfed," the statement said. This position has gained the support of numerous organisations, including the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). "We recognise that infants have the rights to be breastfed. But this has implications for all other people and duties," Urban Jonsson, UNICEF's Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, told IRIN. "We should also, at the end of the statement, say that there are situations where breastfeeding is not in the best interests of the child," he said. "I for example belong to the group that say if I meet a woman and I know she is HIV positive, then I would advise against breastfeeding." During the workshops, which brought together over 300 people from 70 countries, the question of Mother to Child Transmission (MTCT) of HIV/AIDS through breastfeeding emerged as a bone of contention. "The moment a woman knows she is not supposed to breastfeed, then I think there is an obligation for the government and others to ensure that she doesn't breastfeed, and that safe replacement feeding is arranged," Jonsson said. Big business also came under attack for violating the international code of marketing of breast milk substitutes, which, campaigners say, is the only tool available to combat unethical marketing practices, whereby companies claim that the formulae are as beneficial as breastfeeding. While WABA recommended that businesses that violated the code should be held accountable "and this could be done in a human rights framework", others believe that the challenge is greater. "Not only should we be looking at companies that violate the code, but also governments and international organisations that are allowing and sometimes encouraging these violations," said Ammelies Allain, an activist at the conference.