Ecuador reiterates the defense of breastfeeding and rejects foreign pressures

Reference: badfeeding in public.

The Government of Ecuador reiterated today its public and international defense of exclusive badfeeding up to six months and rejected foreign pressures to change its position in international organizations.

" Ecuador will not only maintain the policy of promotion and protection of badfeeding unalterable, but will also increase its programs to promote this nutritional practice in the future", ] read a statement from the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Secretariat of Communication

In this way, the Ecuadorian executive responded to the publication of an article in the newspaper American "The New York Times" who said Sunday that Washington reportedly lobbied Quito to withdraw or amend a proposal to the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding badfeeding in the

According to the newspaper, Ecuador had received threats from US officials to withdraw or reduce the letter of the resolution filed on spring s latest to the WHO, and suggested that they responded

The newspaper points out that one of the US threats consisted of trade sanctions, including withdrawal of aid military, if Ecuador did not align with the approaches. from Washington, which proposed to withdraw from the article appeals to governments for "to protect, promote and support badfeeding".

Another article in the bill urged politicians to restrict the promotion of food products that many experts claim can have harmful effects on infants.

The so-called US policy on the issue, which according to anonymous sources cited by the newspaper, defend women who, for different circumstances, can not badfeed their babies, ruin 40 years of research on badfeeding and its profits, according to organizations defending this diet.

" Ecuador has never accepted pressure to change its badfeeding policy nor will it accept its link with the questions of commercial or public safety.It is the constant practice of the government of Ecuador to reject any kind of badistance that establishes conditions that go against the values ​​and the Principles of the Constitution of the State " reads in the official statement. Protecting his policy the Ecuadorian state cited his constitution and added that as a country "has always supported" all the resolutions on badfeeding that have been pbaded in the past in the context of the United States. WHO.

In addition, insists that it will put into recommendations of the WHO regarding badfeeding, which will be taken into account in "more than ten strategies at the national level" .

"Breast milk provides all the nutrients that babies and infants need to achieve healthy development," the letter added.

The article in the New York newspaper badures other developing countries in Africa. Rich and several Latin Americans withdrew their support for the resolution, citing the fear of being sanctioned by the United States, although ultimately US efforts were unsuccessful because it was Russia that withdrew his support for the resolution. EFE