PAHO calls for stronger safeguards against digital marketing that undermines breastfeeding

DURING World Breastfeeding Week- August 1-7, PAHO has warned that increasingly sophisticated digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes is influencing infant feeding decisions and calls for stronger regulation and monitoring of online advertising.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has called on countries across the Americas to strengthen protections for families against the growing digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes and other products that may undermine breastfeeding. The call in a release came as breast feeding week was being observed globally from August 1-7.

While breastfeeding remains one of the most effective interventions for protecting the health and development of infants and young children, the environment in which families make feeding decisions has changed dramatically. Personalized advertising on social media, influencers, algorithms, and artificial intelligence are creating new challenges to ensuring that parents and caregivers receive objective, evidence-based information, PAHO states.

Breastfeeding provides optimal nutrition for infants, strengthens their immune systems, reduces the risk of illness, and supports healthy growth and development. It also offers significant health benefits for mothers.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, only 43% of infants are exclusively breastfed during their first six months of life, well below the global target of 60% by 2030. According to PAHO, this gap is driven by multiple factors, including an increasingly sophisticated digital environment that can influence infant feeding decisions.

PAHO warns that many of these marketing strategies operate largely out of public view. Companies are increasingly using digital tools to target pregnant women, new mothers, and other caregivers through social media promotions, influencer endorsements, and advertising embedded across digital platforms.

“Breastfeeding is far more than an individual choice. It is one of the most effective ways to give children the best possible start in life,” said Vanessa Garcia Larsen, Chief of PAHO’s Risk Factors Unit.

“In the digital age, protecting breastfeeding also means protecting families from commercial practices that may influence their decisions.”

Data presented during a recent PAHO regional seminar show that only 45% of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have adopted measures related to the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes.

Only two countries, Brazil and Argentina, have achieved substantial alignment with the Code, while several Caribbean countries still lack specific legislation. In addition, regional monitoring identified potential violations across social media platforms, websites, and other digital channels, where most of the advertising reviewed was found.