#Codeheroes

#Codeheroes Campaign

In 1981 the World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, including subsequent WHA resolutions that have clarified and updated the original provisions, referred to as the “Code”. The Code is an international, ethical, and human rights tool, that countries can also adopt and enact into national laws. The Code aims to prevent needless deaths of infants and young children, from the diseases caused by inappropriate and misleading marketing of breastmilk substitutes. The code covers any unethical promotions of products that could undermine breastfeeding and be used as a substitute to breastfeeding, including baby food marketed under 6 months of age, infant and young child formulas, and other milks for consumption up to 3 years old, and also includes, bottles and teats (some nationals laws go beyond the minimum Code standard). The Code does not prohibit the sale of such products, but prohibits ALL forms of promotion and predatory marketing of these products. The Code, therefore enables families to make informed decisions regarding infant and young child feeding, free from commercial influence.

Call to Action

The Code acts like a shield to protect families from predatory marketing and it requires #CodeHeroes in order to protect life-saving breastfeeding from the Mult-Billion USD formula/bottle industry.

Saving lives means scaling up breastfeeding protection. What is more, breastfeeding is a team effort! Therefore, we call upon every citizen, especially youth to monitor, report and encourage governments around the world to enforce with strong sanctions violators of the Code.

#CodeHeroes campaign gives effort to support, uphold, rejuvenate and unite Code monitors around the world. The concept is a simple grassroots global response as a counter marketing strategy to companies predatory marketing, through the power of social media. This campaign will help educate the public and engage and inspire youth to be #CodeHeroes. This grassroots action will put public pressure on companies, through mass youth engagement in Code monitoring and reporting on the social media platforms of TikTok, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, conducted in a cool and edgy way.