Marketing: URGENT MESSAGE: Please help remove Para 56bis in the Political Declaration on NCDs
This is an urgent message to all those who are not yet on holiday and are able to contact their government or UN contacts officials.
The latest version of the Political Declaration (dated 29.7.11) we are told Member States aim to finalise by the end of this week. Many of us are very worried to see that some entirely new text has crept in in the last week – namely in Para 56 bis. (see below)
IBFAN has been pleased to see the text improve in many ways over the last few weeks, with some good language inserted by Norway, the EU and others calling for the regulation of marketing, the avoidance conflicts of interest monitoring and the protection of breastfeeding. Some of these sections need more specificity but each draft seemed to get better and some of the worrying loose 'partnership' language started to disappear.. We were hoping that the final document could be something we could heartedly support and use.
So we are sad to see the new text in Para 56 bis that could negate this - by enshrining everything that industry wants - the promotion of voluntary pledges, inappropriate partnerships and inappropriate involvement in 'guidance.' The paragraph proposes a new Non-Communicable Prevention and Control Diseases Partnership that is supposed to “guide actions and assess progress achieved in realizing voluntary commitments by all stakeholders in the prevention and control of NCDs, as well as engaging in advocacy.”
This is in direct contradiction to the recommendations that 126 NGOs have made in the Statement of concern on lack of clarity on role of industry<http://info.babymilkaction.org/sites/info.babymilkaction.org/files/COI%20126.pdf>\. The NGOs are wide-ranging and actively working on diabetes, cancer, alcohol, nutrition, tobacco, access to medicine, midwifery and paediatrics. All are calling on the UN to address conflicts of interest and establish a proper process to guide interactions with the private sector. All are asking for policy development to be free from and uncompromised by the obvious conflicts of interests associated with the food alcohol, beverage and other industries: The latest list is here:
http://info.babymilkaction.org/node/458)
Please contact your MS about this and demand that conflicts of interest are not institutionalised as the norm. It is vital that the UN, WHO and Member Stated are able to protect their independence and integrity in decision making and the safest way to safeguard this now must surely be to integrate good language on conflicts of interest into the Political Declaration.
Here are our suggestions. You will surely have more. Please let me know how you get on.
1 DELETE 56 bis completely. Failing that amend as follows:
([56 bis Request the Secretary General to establish, no later than 2012, in close consultation and collaboration with Member States, a Non-Communicable Prevention and Control Diseases Partnership, consisting of led by Member States, WHO and relevant UN agencies, involving funds and programmes, international financial institutions, the private sector, civil society organizations, foundations and research and academic institutions, while ensuring avoiding conflicts of interest - to guide actions and assess progress achieved. in realizing voluntary commitments by all stakeholders in the prevention and control of NCDs, as well as engaging in advocacy and resource mobilization, taking into account experiences from other partnerships such as the Stop TB and Rollback Malaria Partnerships. G77][Switzerland, Aust to come back, WHO leadership to be included][RF reserve position] (Placement to be determined),
2 In Para 43 Ensure that there is a reference in the footnote or text to the WHA Resolution 63.14 and the WHO Recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to Children keeping the EU's recommendation to . "Ensure the implementation of a set of recommendations to reduce the impact of marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children, while ensuring avoidance of potential conflicts of interest." Making sure to keep the text about conflicts of interest.
NB: Delete the last bit of text proposed by NZ in Para 40 qualt alt: "working in partnerships with food producers and manufacturers."
Ensure that text does not simply “Ensure responsible and accountable marketing" This contradicts the WHO Recommendations which is to REDUCE exposure to marketing - rather than INCREASE it. The food industry considers all its marketing to be responsible. (see also Tackling Obesity - how companies use education to build Trust
http://info.babymilkaction.org/node/412 )
3 Add a footnote reference to the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and Subsequent relevant WHA Resolutions to Norway's two recommendations on breastfeeding ( Pages 16 and 18 )
3 Add a reference calling on Codex Alimentarius to support rather than undermine the Global Diet Strategy. For a key example of how infant overweight is encouraged by trade rules see the Codex 2006 Nutrition meeting. Thailand - supported by Norway – tried to get the permitted sugar levels in the baby food Standard lowered from 30% to 10% but was blocked by the EU and US. Until this is fixed it will be really difficult for countries to stop the import of high sugar baby foods.
http://www.ibfan.org/news-2006-eu_us.html
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Patti Rundall
mailto:prundall@babymilkaction.org