Large global corporations are taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to aggressively promote baby formula, playing on mothers’ fears of transmitting coronavirus through breastfeeding, the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) has warned.
Nestlé baby formula has been distributed as part of COVID-19 relief efforts in Pakistan and India, despite laws and global health rules restricting donations.
Other large companies have been running digital ads for baby formula across the world that draw on parents’ worries about “viruses” and promote industry-sponsored COVID-19 advice groups for parents, despite bans on direct marketing.
