Campaign Against Infant Formula
Breast Feed The Best

By Anand Shova Tamrakar

THE World Health Organisation says that millions of babies die prematurely from diarrhoea, malnutrition, retardation and other diseases every year.

In order to save the lives of millions of babies who die every year from various diseases, the World Alliance for Breast-feed Action (WABA) was formed in collaboration with UNICEF in 1992 and decided to observe August 1-7 as Breast feeding week in 1997 around the world to restore breast feeding culture. The objectives of the WABA are to raise public awareness of the environmental benefits of breast feeding and the ecologically damaging effects of Infant Formula (Bottle-feeding).

Currently in the developing countries diseases and even death in the absence of proper use of infant Formula are being multiplied. Diarrhoea and malnutrition leading to infant death due to misuse of infant formula is estimated to be as high as one million per year in the third world only.

Human milk has recognised advantages over infant formula. Even when formula is prepared with clean water and dispensed from sterilised bottles, its bacterial counts are higher than those of breast feeding. It is recognised that human milk contains substances which help immunize the child against various diseases. Chemicals known as immunoglobulins, present in the colostrum (first days of mother’s milk), guard against certain infections, while helping to discourage the growth of harmful microorganisms in general. Anti-bodies in breast milk also protect the child against bacteria trhat causes diarrhoea, a life threatening diseases for third world infants.Diarrhoea often interferes with nutrient absorption and is thus associated with malnutrition. Acute diarrhoeal disease is the major cause of death among adults as well as infants in eight Latin American countries and such disease is ten times more frequent among non-breast-fed Mexican children than among the breast-fed.

In many ways breast feeding has advantages over infant formula. When mothers substitute infant formula for breast-feeding they lose some of the psychological benefits gained through breast feeding as well as the natural contraceptive effect of lactation, which may be particularly significant in the developing world. However, poverty and unsanitary conditions make the use of infant formula hazardous. Water available for mixing the formula is often contaminated and facilities for sterilising bottles and refrigerating are lacking. One study conducted in rural Chile found widespread bacterial contamination of bottles and formula, indicating the improper use.

In the poorest countries, infant formula purchases can amount to 85 per cent of a amily’s income. Such a huge expense had compelled mothers to dilute the powder, stretching a four-day supply (one pound) to make it last as long as three weeks. A survey conducted in Barbados found 82 per cent of mothers who used infant formulas were over diluting powder milk.

Mothers who are unable to breast feed their children have a real need for formulas, and in that context, distributions of formulas provide an essential service. Mothers should be provided with proper hygienic facilities and educational programmes so that they can learn how to make the correct use of formula. Consequently, the risks can be minimised. It is absolutely essential to assume that useful products are not converted to hazards and to see that they are not used unnecessarily by consumers who thereby expose their children to inordinate risks of diseases and death. Once again, we see a situation in which neither exporters nor importers have taken sufficient precautions to minimise the risks.

Artificial milk is an industrially manufactured food that undergoes Multiple process and alteration as it is converted from cow’s milk in to the powder from but it has proved vulnerable to contamination by harmful bacteria. But breast milk is a living substance. Woman’s milk is tailored for her own baby. When a mother is exposed to pathogens in the environment, she produces anti-bodies to combat them. There is no risk of contamination by harmful bacteria.

Several multinational corporations based in the United States and Europe have played a major role in shifting the preference of mothers in developing nations from breast-feeding to the bottle. The Swiss-based Nestle Company dominates the Third World infant formula market, with a 50 per cent share. These companies, because of reduced demand for infant formula products in the most developed countries, have been seeking new markets in developing nations.

Churches and other concerned groups have severely criticised the methods used in the Third World by multi-national companies to promote infant formula. Some of the companies have attempted through advertising to instill in Third World women a false belief that infant formula is more nutritions than breast milk, whereas experts say exactly the opposite. Mass media campaigns also hint at the glamour of emulating Western ways. Formula advertisements show pictures of lovely, fat babies, usually Western, using that formula makes these infants so much robust than their Third World counterparts.

Distribution of free formula samples, besides encouraging emulation of Western Ways, may also make bottle feeding a physical necessity. Mothers who postpone lactation while trying the free samples provided by ‘milk nurses’ may experience real difficulties in attempting to breast-feed when the samples run out. However, it is clear that there is an urgent need to develop a counter campaign operation with a network of appropriate consultants in key centres, knowledgeable in the techniques of infant nutrition in the developing countries.

The Nestle boycott was organised by the Infant Formula Action Coalition in 1977 and supported by health workers, churches, women’s group and concerned individuals. The boycott was only a first step in an international grassroots, campaign to stop irresponsible promotion of infant formula. In 1978 the World Health Assembly passed for the second time, a resolution urging member nations to take action to encourage breast-feeding and discourage the high pressure promotion of breast milk substitutes.

In reality breastfeeding is beneficial especially for those family members whose income is very low. It costs the mother and the family members very little whereas bottle feeding purchases can consume from 30 to 85 per cent of household income. At present the children born in poor families are also likely to be bottled because they consider it as a modern practice.

Breast milk is the major source of Vitamin A for infants, which is absolutely essential for the maintenance of good health. Vitamin A deficiency causes retardation, iron deficiency anaemia, night blindness and child mortality. Vitamin A deficiencies affects as many as 250 million children around the world.

We live in a polluted world. Breast feeding produces no waste. Each breast feeding mother reduces problems of pollutions and waste disposal. There is no need to use land water, metal, plastic and fuels, all of which cost money and affect the environment. Thus it can help protect our environment to a large extent.

For a mother, breastfeeding provides such health benefits as reducing the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, reducing post-partum bleeding and iron deficiency, anaemia etc..

Breast feeding is an important part of global food security, too. It is, therefore, absolutely essential to increase efforts to support, encourage and promote breast feeding. Every strata of the society needs to learn about the advantages of breast feeding.

In the least developed countries like Nepal Infant Formula has increasingly been adopted by many mothers not only in urban areas but also in rural areas. This is being erroneously considered as a modern practice as opposed to breast feeding which is looked on to as being outdated. Such a trend, if allowed to persist, could result in bringing about adverse effect on the health of millions of babies in the world.

Therefore, all responsible sectors of society and the governments should do all they can to make mothers realise the advantages of breast feeding to infant formula (bottle feeding). Counter measures should be stepped up to erase the erroneous notion created by the commercial advertising by multi-nationals and smaller companies promoting infant formula.

October 1 Elections: Bangladesh at Crossroads

By Nishchal Nath Pandey

BANGLADESH is gearing up for its crucial general elections of the Jatiya Samsada scheduled for October 1. Nepal and Bangladesh adopted parliamentary system just about the same time and the challenges and tribulations have been similar. While bandhs (bandh politics is popularly called hartolitics) have been more frequent in Bangladesh, the pressures and pulls of a plural society have been existent comparably in both the countries. Rujuk, the body responsible for allocating residential land in Dhaka, released a list of 301 successful applicants in July 1999. It was found shockingly that 90 percent of the "lucrative plots have been distributed among cabinet ministers, party M.Ps, leaders and activists.

However, unlike our constitutional arrangement Bangladesh has adopted a sort of a stop-gap arrangement to hold a peaceful and fair election thereby reducing the chances and disparagement of nepotism and facilitating (if it may) a smooth transition of government. This conception, (which in fact has been a Bangladeshi innovation) was initiated in Feb. 1996 after the BNP accepted the idea of a caretaker government through 13th amendment of the Constitution. Justice Habibur Rehman assumed the post of chief advisor along with the council of 10 advisors. This time too, Justice Latifur Rahman has been appointed as the chief advisor of the caretaker government. On Monday, addressing the nation over radio and television, he urged political parties to have confidence in each other and practice democratic culture, and sought the sincere cooperation of all concerned for making the ensuing election free, fair and peaceful. He said that despite differences of opinion the political parties should respect the people’s verdict expressed through elections. Justice Latifur Rahman said that "the task of holding election had become more complex than compared to 1991 and 1996 because of terrorism, influence of black money and the use of muscle power".

The announcement of the poll schedule by the Chief Election Commissioner has, already placed the deeply impoverished nation into an election top gear. While the announcement has prompted various political parties into a serious campaigning spree, trying to promote and popularize their agenda of action for the next five years, there is a larger ordeal for the election commission and for the caretaker government to make the elections credible. The sorry predicament of Bangladeshi politics has been the bitter personal rivalry between the top leaders of the two main political parties having its spillover on the entire spectrum of the country’s politics. What is worse is that, true to the chief advisor’s anxiety, there has been a rapid and significant rise in the flow of arms into rowdy hands and politicians of the country have not seen the urgency to stop this unhealthy trend for their own petty, personal gains.

How the run-up for elections will flair and how the country’s politics for the next half a decade will emerge will have to be watched but on the whole, it must not be overlooked that despite frequent natural and political calamities, Bangladesh has lately been making headways in numerous spheres. Leaders and people of Bangladesh that viewed the US with considerable animosity after their country’s emergence as an independent country, remembering President Nixon’s advice to compromise with the then Pakistan government have for long strived for a convivial relations with the US. Former President Clinton’s visit was a remarkable blueprint for the future. Clinton had remarked during his stay in Dhaka, "I want my fellow Americans and people throughout the world to know that the people of Bangladesh are a good investment in the future". Disclosing his long personal friendship with Muhammed Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank Clinton said, "if you look only at the Grameen Bank, it has 2.4 million borrowers in 39,000 villages. Ninety-four per cent of the borrowers are women, 98 percent of the loans are repaid. And now, with loans for people to buy cell phones, entire villages are being brought into the Information Age. I want people throughout the world to know this story". The Clinton sojourn has definitely uplifted the image of Bangladesh.

Another facet of the Bangladesh-US relations has been the heated deliberation regarding the usage of natural gas of Bangladesh that could be utilized for Bangladesh’s economic prosperity. Surveys indicate reserves of 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas which World Bank believes may be 3 times greater, not unlike in the North Sea.

The country marred by frequent assassinations, military takeovers coupled by devastating floods, the recent one being just 3 years ago, has struggled to keep its economy in the right track. One place where Bangladesh has strived a lot and succeeded to a great extent is to make its commerce and business domains separate from political wrangling which is exactly where we should gather some lessons. Although it is difficult not to be anxious regarding the election’s outcome which many are predicting to be a hung parliament, overall political climate of Bangladesh will expectantly get a healthy boost hopefully towards political stability, without bandhs. How the country will to borrow the words of the chief advisor, manage "terrorism, influence of black money and the use of muscle power" will be another case in point for all.

"The Icebreaker"

By Binita Joshi

DALE Carnegie in his famous book "How to Make Friends and Influence People" has repeatedly highlighted the fact that he makes most friends who remember the other person’s name. His logic was everybody loves to be called by his or her names.

Apart from this I believe that he makes most of friends, who knows staroscope, horoscope, palmistry and psychology. He who knows this formula has the greatest scope of breaking the ice anywhere, anytime and become fast friends.

Breaking ice is just breaking a conversation in a group of two or more at the beginning. In fact, anyone can take the lead. Once the ice is broken, it could last for a lifetime or till the conversation. Icebreaking is also an art. One should know the right time, the right place and above all the right person to perform this art on.

Once there was a fashion of eve teasing by calling out as many names as possible. When you do a little bit of Mambo No. 5, it is highly possible for one of the girls turning out to be Monica, Erica, Rita, Tina, Sandra, Mary or even Jessica in the crowd. As soon as the girl hears her name, she will definitely turn back making the boy successful in his mission – building the rapport of familiarity. With a bit of luck on the boy’s part, the conservation begins, rather from the side of the girl (in this case as the boy has already made his debut move) "how did you know my name"?

Another impressive icebreaker is to approach a person and open the question-like-statement – "You look so familiar, have we met before?" This sentence really could be a mouth opener for further conversation.

Another quite popular icebreaking is psychological treatment like reading faces, reading hands….. "Seems like you are waiting for someone", "Are you feeling bored" - observing the situation of the person or even reading hands can help a lot in winning more friends. I remember once in college, a girl often came to my classroom and always tried to get hang of me (no thank you I am not a gay). I (also one of the shy types seldom made friends in my life) who found hard getting connected to her did not bother much. One day in one of the teacher-absent-classes, I saw her reading the hands of my friend.

Reading the-hand-lines-and-curves is the most liked and disliked thing on earth. People fear it and are tremendously fond of it at the same time. As my friend was making her eyeballs move small and big in finding the reality in the hand reading, I just could not stop myself and she read my hands too and out of curiosity I poured too much of my inquisitivity. Since then we are good friends.

Staroscope and horoscope also help a lot. These are the tools for which people fall down quite easily. The basic steps for this is to remember one or two attributes of persons born under some zodiac signs or the monthly charts and make the best use of the memory.

One easy way to break an ice is to get introduced by someone who knows both the parties. This way really does sound professional and well mannered but there is a different charm in the maneuver to break the ice by oneself. Why not, this also gives a sense of accomplishment to the doer.

In the process of icebreaking, however a person should never forget the most ardent ability – the ability of smiling which not only breaks the ice but also melts it to vaporize into laughter and happiness.