The Indian Academy of Paediatrics, the largest association of paediatricians in India, has sent an email to all its members warning them against taking part in any event or programme that violates the Infant Milk Substitutes (IMS) Act. The mail further explained that prohibition on sponsorship under IMS Act includes “not only manufacturers of infant milk substitutes, infant foods and feeding bottles but also companies/persons engaged in the marketing/promotion, sales, exports, imports, supply and distribution”.
After the recent controversy about Abbott Nutrition, a multinational manufacturer of infant formula sponsoring a “national paediatric summit” in a five-star hotel in Dehradun, Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) which is gazetted as an organisation to monitor compliance of the Act, had written to IAP requesting the officebearers to “send a quick communication to alert all members not to participate in the summit proposed by Abbott on March 8-9 in Dehradun”. It has written a similar letter to National Neonatology Forum since several neonatologists have also been invited to be part of the Abbott-sponsored summit.
In the meantime, the Dehradun hotel, with 263 rooms, is fully booked and the summit is expected to start Saturday. “We have filed a complaint with local police in Dehradun and they have promised to investigate the matter. Any violation of IMS Act is a cognizable offence or an offence or crime that a police officer can investigate and arrest without a warrant,” explained BPNI national convenor Nupur Bidla. Another BPNI member from Gurgaon, Dr Dinesh Khosla has complained to National Medical Commission seeking “appropriate action” against doctors who are attending the Abbott summit for violating section 6.8 which deals with relationship of doctors with pharmaceutical and allied health sector industry.
The mail from IAP stated it was in continuation to a mail sent on Sept 10, 2019 to all IAP members and another sent on Aug 27, 2022 to all branch officebearers asking them not to take part in any event or programme that violates IMS Act. “IAP strongly stand against breaking the law and urges every member to abide by the law and refrain from taking part in any event or programmes/sponsorship that violates IMS Act to ensure all laws that benefit the children in the country are appropriately followed for their safety,” it stated.
“Time and again, lots of new companies, especially small local ones, are emerging which come under IMS Act, especially the ones making baby foods or complementary foods,” warned IAP giving a detailed list of the kind of companies or agencies covered under IMS Act, which included manufacturers of feeding bottles and nipples and complementary foods. The indicative list included Abbott Healthcare, listed as a manufacturer of three popular infant formula brands.
The IAP letter recommended that its members “check all the sponsors or contributors for their direct or indirect connection with companies or persons covered under IMS Act” and to get an undertaking in writing from them that they were not “directly or indirectly related to manufacturing, sales and distribution of any products coming under the purview of IMS Act” and that the company was not established by a food business operator(s) and that it had no sister concern or subsidiary coming under the purview of IMS Act.
