Australia reported for the fourth time at the CRC Committee on the 4th and
5th of June 2012. IBFAN had submitted an alternative report on
the situation of infant and young child feeding in Australia.
The Committee members addressed issues of infant and young child feeding as
part of the health topic. The Committee acknowledged the high rates of early initiation
of breastfeeding in Australia, however these were followed by reports of
extremely low exclusive and continued breastfeeding rates across the country.
The Committee remarked that the exclusive breastfeeding rates are going down,
and this can be attributed to the poor monitoring of the International Code ofMarketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (the Code), which has led to a large amount
of advertisement on infant and toddler formula.
The Committee asked the government delegation many questions regarding the
monitoring of the Code in Australia and how the government reacts to
violations. The government mentioned the voluntary agreement with the industry
peak body (INC), which restricts the advertising of infant formula (including
follow-on formula but not including toddler formula or growing-up milk) to the
general public by manufacturers and importers in theory. It does not apply to
the activities of retailers and it does not restrict the advertising of feeding
bottles and teats or complementary foods that are marketed as suitable for
infants less than 6 months old. However, no information was provided on the
effective implementation and monitoring of the Code in practice.
The Committee also asked if there are
policies in place in Australian hospitals that promote breastfeeding in
alignment with the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). The government did
not respond to this question.
The Australian government stated that
breastfeeding falls under the category of discrimination in the workplace and
that it is illegal for a woman to be discriminated against for breastfeeding
once she returns to work.
No comments:
Post a Comment