Why is infant formula sold in developing countries?
Infant formula is the only product recommended by the UN’s food standards body as an appropriate substitute for breast-milk. For working mothers in the developing world who can afford it, infant formula can be a vital product, as the mothers are commonly obliged to return to work when their baby is a few months old, and often forced to be away from their babies from sunrise to sunset. This is also true for women who, for medical or other reasons, cannot breastfeed, as well as the orphans of the over 600,000 women who annually die in childbirth. However, the vast majority of mothers in developing countries do not have the means to buy infant formula and feed their babies inferior (and dangerous) traditional substitutes for breast-milk, including whole cow’s milk, rice water and corn starch and water. These are commonly used by both breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding mothers.
