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Regulating the digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes: A SUN Movement call to action
April 1, 2025 - Last update: April 1, 2025
The challenge of digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes
Nine SUN Movement countries—Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Lesotho, Panama, Peru, and Sri Lanka—have backed a decision by the World Health Organization’s Executive Board to accelerate progress in regulating the digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes. This decision, led by Mexico and Brazil, paves the way for a Resolution to be presented at the 78th World Health Assembly in May 2025. If adopted, the resolution will be a major step in protecting breastfeeding, ensuring that parents receive accurate information, and closing regulatory gaps in digital marketing.
Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child survival, growth, and development. It provides optimal nutrition, strengthens immune systems, and reduces the risk of malnutrition and disease. However, aggressive digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes undermines breastfeeding and misleads parents and caregivers. The WHO’s 2022 report on digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes revealed that companies use paid influencers, social media targeting, and deceptive tactics to reach parents globally, often violating international health guidelines. These marketing practices create barriers to exclusive breastfeeding, disempower parents, and contribute to declining breastfeeding rates. Without strong regulation, digital platforms will continue to be used to circumvent national laws and public health recommendations.
SUN Movement countries powering change
SUN Movement countries are already taking action to counteract this harmful marketing and strengthen breastfeeding support. In Sierra Leone, the government has demonstrated leadership in ensuring strong regulatory frameworks to protect breastfeeding. Over the past 15 years, Sierra Leone has increased the exclusive breastfeeding rate from 10% in 2010 to 52.7% in 2021, thereby surpassing the 2025 WHO global target. The Breastmilk Substitutes Act, adopted in 2021, aligns closely with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and ranks among the strongest in the African region, with a 99% compliance score. Furthermore, the establishment of a Breastmilk Substitute Advisory and Promotion Committee in 2024 ensures ongoing oversight and enforcement of the law. With these measures , Sierra Leone is taking further steps towards achieving its target of a 70% exclusive breastfeeding rate by 2030.
In response to the rapid growth of online advertisements, Vietnam authorities enacted a decree on digital advertising in July 2021 and have turned to technology to enforce regulations. The VIVID (Virtual Violations Detector) system, an AI-powered tool, scans social media platforms, shopping sites, and websites to identify advertisements that violate national and international regulations. By using text and image recognition, VIVID flags potential breaches for review by human monitors, who can then escalate violations to government authorities for action. This innovative approach, led by Alive & Thrive, lead of the SUN Civil Society Alliance in the country, is a model for how digital tools can help governments keep pace with the rapid and often deceptive nature of online marketing.
On the other side of the ocean, El Salvador has taken a comprehensive approach to protecting breastfeeding through national policies and laws. These policies ensure that all children have the right to be breastfed within the first hour of life, exclusively for the first six months, and complementarily up to age two or beyond. To further support breastfeeding mothers, El Salvador has implemented 400 lactation rooms in workplaces and public spaces by the end of 2024. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 breastfeeding counselors have been trained with support from EU4SUN, UNICEF, and SUN Movement partners to equip mothers with knowledge and encouragement.
The need for global action
These country-led efforts reflect the SUN Movement’s broader commitment to ensuring that breastfeeding is protected, promoted, and supported. The 2024 Code Status Report has shown that when countries have strong monitoring and enforcement mechanisms in place, breastfeeding rates improve significantly. This reinforces the urgent need for global action to regulate digital marketing and hold online platforms accountable.
As the decision moves forward to the 78th World Health Assembly, the SUN Movement urges all its member countries to support the adoption of the resolution. Digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes has long outpaced regulation, and strong legal frameworks are essential to safeguard the rights of parents and ensure optimal child nutrition. By supporting this resolution, countries can take a decisive step toward curbing deceptive marketing practices, empowering parents with accurate, unbiased information, and accelerating progress toward the World Health Assembly’s 2025 target of 50% exclusive breastfeeding.
