------------------------------------------------------ Welcome to the FRIDAY BALCAO ------------------------------------------------------
Dear Cybergaonkars on Goanet, Friday Balcao the fortnightly discussion event to be held on 11th August will focus on the need to Protect Breast feeding by making the IMS Act known to people. The discussion is being organised in observance of the World Breast Feeding Week. Every year the first week of August i.e. from August 1-7 is celebrated as World Breast feeding Week. During this time there are efforts to create awareness on the importance of exclusive breast feeding for the first six months and continued breast feeding for two years and beyond, along with adequate and appropriate complementary feeding starting after 6 months, to provide ideal nutrition to infants and young children. So why the The Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 1992 as amended in 2003 (The IMS Act) and how can it protect breast feeding ? With the growth of urbanization and the emergence of the nuclear family people moved away from the traditional foods & diets and practices. This also resulted in the emergence of newer foods like the infant feeds, dehydrated milk powder, infant formulations and of course the bottle feeders. The shift from breast feeding to bottle feeding due to the sheer pressures on working mothers provided the right opportunity to the promoters of infant feed formulations to advertise and aggressively market their packaged products. The result was evident, increased infant malnutrition, morbidity and mortality. In a bid to control this health related problem the Govt. of India enacted the IMS Act but manufacturers of these infant foods found loopholes to market their products by directly approaching breast feeding mothers and even influencing the health professionals. So if breast feeding is to be promoted and protected and the unscrupulous manufacturers are to be checked then the only answer is that the provisions of the IMS Act must be made known to the people. Moreover the behaviour of the various manufacturers must be monitored by the consumers in the market place. What specific role can NGO's, Service Clubs, Mahila Mandals, and heads of religious institutions play in promoting and protecting breast feeding in Goa ? What kind of steps can be taken to implement the IMS Act with the involvement of the Primary Health Centres and the Consumer Forums at the village level? The Balcao discussion will cover these questions and also evolve an agenda for action by citizens on the issue. Friday Balcao will be from 4pm to 6pm at the Goa Desc Resource Centre No.11 Liberty Apartments Feira Alta, Mapusa and is open to members of the public. We invite you to attend the Friday Balcao event but if you cannot attend, then please send your views by post to FRIDAY BALCAO Post Box 78, Mapusa 403 507 or by email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] best wishes, Roland Martins ======================================= GOA DESC RESOURCE CENTRE Documentation + Education + Solidarity 11 Liberty Apts., Feira Alta, Mapusa, Goa 403 507 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ----------------------------------------------------------- Working On Issues Of Development & Democracy ======================================= _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [email protected] http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org
