ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) MNA Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak on Tuesday tabled an amendment to the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) Act 2010, which aims to discourage the practice of feeding infants formula.

While introducing the bill, Ms Khattak said there are a number of companies that import and sell baby formula. She claimed that baby formula is frequently recommended in Pakistan, and used even when it is not required.

“Legislation that [baby formula] should not be given to infants unless it becomes necessary is needed,” she said.

The draft states that commercial baby formula is made in accordance with Codex Alimentarius Standards, which means the minimum standards of nutrient composition must be met. There are many brands of formula, but the proteins and fats found in them are inferior to human milk. Baby formula is also harder to digest and lacking in protective factors.

Bill calls for sale of baby formula to be restricted, conditioned ‘on provision of prescription’

It said that formula manufacturing is a multi-billion dollar industry, and the volume of trade is rapidly increasing. “No one can deny that sale of one tin or packet of formula milk deprives a child to the most suitable food, the breast milk,” the bill reads, adding that unethical tactics are used to increase the sale of baby formula.

The bill also says that Pakistan spends $40 million annually on importing baby formula, which is the highest amount spent by any country. It says that 160 varieties of baby formula are available on the market, and Drap should “strictly monitor and regulate the import and local manufacturing of formula milk”.

“In addition to that the sale of formula milk must be restricted and conditioned with the provision on prescription of a registered medical practitioner so that the detrimental effects associated with the use of different formula milk brands may be minimised up to the maximum,” it states.

The house has referred the amendment to a standing committee for further discussion.

According to a report released by the World Health Organisation and Unicef last year, no country in the world fully meets recommended breastfeeding standards, and only 23 out of 194 countries have exclusive breastfeeding rates above 60pc.

The report said that Pakistan stands at 18pc for ‘early initiation of breastfeeding’, and 37.7pc of mothers practice ‘exclusive breastfeeding for six months’.

Statistics suggest that 44pc of Pakistani children are stunted. Compliance to early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding and complimentary breastfeeding for two years could significantly reduce stunting in Pakistan.

The WHO has said that the promotion of breastfeeding could save the lives of 820,000 children under the age of five around the world by achieving increased rates of breastfed children.

There is also evidence to suggest that breastfeeding has cognitive and health benefits for infants and bothers. Children who are exclusively breastfed for the first six months are 14 times more likely to survive than children who are not, and breastfeeding also helps prevent diarrhoea and pneumonia, which are major causes of death in infants. Mothers who breastfeed have a reduced risk of ovarian and breast cancer, two leading causes of death among women.

The WHO has urged the implementation of the federal Protection of Breast-Feeding and Child Nutrition Ordinance 2002 and its 2009 rules.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2018