The International 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 co-operation with UNICEF. This analysis of the provisions of the International Code gives a detailed account of its history. It describes the aim of the Code and its material scope and definitions, 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, as is 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 presents the text of the International Code, and the relevant resolutions of the World Health Assembly and the Executive Board of WHO.