WHO Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes

The International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes is the first original legal instrument of its kind adopted by the World Health Organization, in cooperation with UNICEF. The International Code, for the first time at the international plane, deals with a health issue that is of considerable importance to any society, namely, the healthy growth and development of infants. This volume is a thorough analysis of the provisions of the International Code, and gives a detailed account of its history.

The aim of the International Code, its material scope and definitions, and certain known marketing practices to promote the use of breast-milk substitutes are described, as well as its implementation and the question of whether or not Member States of WHO are under a legal obligation to implement it. Modes of implementation are addressed and the monitoring of the International Code by States, individually and collectively, as well as self-monitoring by the infant-food industry, and the role of NGOs, institutions and individuals in the process. An appendix, containing the text of the International Code, and the relevant resolutions of the World Health Assembly of WHO, and a bibliography and a detailed index conclude the volume.