Concern about Labelling and Marketing of Milk Products for Kids in Vietnam

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UNICEF and Alive and Thrive are very concerned about the labelling and marketing of milk products for infants and young children currently on sale in Vietnam. Currently, the price of breast milk substitutes is a controversial issue in the mass media in Vietnam. Not only are they being sold at vastly inflated prices, but the health of Vietnamese children is potentially at risk.

 

Incorrectly renaming breast milk substitutes as “complementary food” or “nutrition products” places them outside the regulatory authority of the Ministry of Finance. Use of these terms is also confusing for consumers, and distracts from the global evidence base that provides clear recommendations for infant and young child feeding.

 

Therefore to safeguard the health and development of Vietnamese children, the WHO, UNICEF, and Alive & Thrive strongly recommend that the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance in Vietnam classify ‘follow-up’ formulas correctly as milk products. This would ensure that they will be subject to price control and covered by marketing restrictions as contained in the International Code on Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.

 

These organisations stand as one behind the leadership of the Government of Vietnam in protecting, and promoting and supporting breastfeeding for the best interest of the children, mothers, communities, and the entire nation.