Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2018-10-16

Introduction of a new Bill to substitute the Sri Lanka Code for the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding and marketing the designated products

- It has been ensured that breastfeeding contributes strongly for the achievement of optimum physical health, nutrition and the cognitive development in children and to reduce malnutrition as well as the prevention of non‑communicable diseases in later life. Sri Lanka is also one of the first countries of the world that adopted the International Code on Breast Milk substitutes according to the World Health Convention in 1981 and has gained the first place in breast feeding status according to the Report of the World Breastfeeding Trend Initiative. As such, the proposal made by Hon. (Dr.) Rajitha Senaratne, the Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, to instruct the Legal Draftsman to draft a new Bill with a strong legal frame, to address the issues caused by the milk food industry for the infants and children, the promotion of commercial complementary foods and also for the prevention of the spread of unhealthy food habits, was approved by the Cabinet.