Dr Oscar Lanza - Coordinator
IBFAN Bolivia
interviewed on 20th March 2003 by Baby Milk Action.
The Bolivian group belonging
to the International Baby Food Action
Network (IBFAN) is, Accion Internacional por la Salud (Health Action
International (Bolivia)). AIS has been campaigning to protect, support
and promote appropriate infant feeding since 1987. AIS Coordinator,
Oscar Lanza MD. MPH., was interviewed by Baby Milk Action on 20th March
2003 by telephone, speaking from La Paz in Bolivia as part of Baby Milk
Action's efforts to ensure the voice of people in developing countries
is heard.
The interview has been cut
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Clip One: Dr. Lanza explains
why AIS is campaigning to protect infant health.
Click
here to hear clip one.
Clip Two: Dr. Lanza gives
an overview of the infant feeding situation in Bolivia.
It is estimated that 23,000
infant lives could be saved in Bolivia every year through the promotion
of appropriate infant nutrition.
Click
here to hear clip two.
Clip Three: Dr. Lanza explains
the impact of aggressive promotion of breastmilk substitutes.
Dr. Lanza explains how aggressive
promotion undermines breastfeeding, affecting rich and poor alike. Baby
food companies sometimes claim that only wealthy mothers use their formula.
But poor mothers try to imitate the images presented to them - putting
inappropriate miks and teas in the feeding bottle, in the mistaken belief
that even these must be better than their own breastmilk.
Click
here to hear clip three.
Clip Four: Dr. Lanza explains
how AIS attempts to stop marketing malpractice.
AIS (IBFAN Bolivia) monitors
the baby food companies and exposes them nationally and, with the help
of its partners in the IBFAN network, internationally.
Click
here to hear clip four.
Clip Five: Dr. Lanza describes
the progress in targetting violations.
Much media advertising has
been stopped, but companies continue to use a variety of methods to
encourage and persuade health workers to prescribe their products.
Click
here to hear clip five.
Clip Six: Dr. Lanza discusses
progress made in introducing legislation to regulate the marketing of
breastmilk substitutes.
AIS (IBFAN Bolivia) has developed
a draft law with widespread involvement of all sectors of the community
and health workers and the baby food companies. The law remains with
the national parliament which appears to lack the political will to
introduce marketing restrictions as it attempts to insert the country
into the 'free' trade, global market.
Click
here to hear clip six.
Clip Seven: Dr. Lanza explains
how transnational companies have obstructed the adoption of the law.
Transnationals have been
an obstacle to the introduction of the law, which is still pending,
and have also attempted to influence the Bolivian Government's position
at international meetings such as those of the Codex
Alimentarius Commission, which sets food standards.
Click
here to hear clip seven.
Clip Eight: Dr. Lanza responds
to the question 'What about malnourished mothers who cannot breastfeed'?
Scientific evidence shows
that it is not true that malnourished mothers cannot breastfeed and
this is the experience in Bolivia, where malnutrition is widespread.
Mothers are being negatively influenced by promotion from the companies
to doubt their ability to breastfeed.
Click
here to hear clip eight.
Clip Nine: Dr. Lanza speaks
on his attitude to the Nestlé boycott.
Dr. Lanza supports the boycott.
He reasons that while poor mothers in Bolivia and elsewhere lack information
and are misled into believing they cannot breastfeed, the executives
of Nestlé are educated and fully appreciate the impact of their
unethical promotion.
Click
here to hear clip nine.
Have you been able to listen
to these clips successfully? What do you think of this method of presenting
them? Would you prefer one long interview? Send your feedback to mikebrady@babymilkaction.org
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