Government and UN meet to tackle declining breastfeeding rates in ChinaA Joint UNICEF and WHO Press Release In April of this year, twelve newborn babies lost their lives after being fed fake milk powder. This was a horrific demonstration of just how dangerous Breast Milk Substitutes in China can be. However, it was still not enough to reverse the alarming trend of China’s declining breastfeeding figures. The continuing use of Breast Milk Substitutes (BMS) can of course be explained to some extent by a lack of support and information for young women , but it is also clear that violations of the International Code of Marketing of BMS are also contributing to the problem . The Maternal and Child Health Department of the Ministry of Health recently highlighted these problems with UNICEF and WHO at an important symposium in Beijing. On 22nd July 2004, UNICEF and WHO co-hosted a symposium with the Maternal and Child Health Department of the Ministry of Health for the various government departments responsible for monitoring the Chinese Code of the marketing of BMS. There, Dr Christian Voumard, UNICEF Representative in China, made the problem at hand vividly clear:
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