Section 14, The Breast-Milk Substitutes Act, 2021

(1) A manufacturer or distributor shall not, directly orindirectly, do anything to promote a designated product including - (a) advertising; (b) using sales devices such as special displays, discount coupons, premiums, rebates, special sales, loss-leaders, tie-in sales, prizes or gifts. (c) giving samples of a designated product to any person; (d) distribution of information, donation of educational materials, performance of educational functions relating to infant or young child feeding, except in the case of product information for health professionals under section 24; (e) cross-promotion of a designated product. (2) A manufacturer or distributor shall not directly or indirectly - (a) donate, waive payment, provide at lower than the wholesale price or lower than 80 percent of the retail price, a designated product to a health worker or a health care facility; (b) donate or distribute equipment, services or materials to a health care facility; (c) offer or give a gift, contribution, sponsorship, benefit, financial or otherwise, of whatevervalue to a health worker or to an association of health workers engaged in maternal, infant and child health; (d) sponsor events, telephone counseling lines, campaigns or programmes related to reproductive health, pregnancy, childbirth, infant or young child feeding; (e) establish relationships with parents and other caregivers through baby clubs, social media groups, child care classes, contests and any other means; or (f) include the volume of sales of designated products in the calculation of its employee remuneration or bonuses or set quotas for sales of designated products. (3) A health worker or an association of health workers engaged in maternal and child health shall not directly or indirectly - (a) accept a gift, contribution, sponsorship, benefit, financial or otherwise, of whatever value, from a manufacturer or distributor; (b) accept or give samples of designated products to a person ;or (c) demonstrate the use of infant formula, except to individual mothers or members of their families in very special cases of need, and in such cases, shall give a clear explanation of other information or educational materials required for infant and young child feeding under section 23. (4) Notwithstanding subsection (1) a manufacturer or distributor may promote a complementary food product provided that- 16 17 Promotion of designated (a) the promotional practice does not take place in a health care facility; (b) the material promoting a complementary food product shall include a statement in characters, no less than one-third the size of the characters in the product name, and in no case less than 2mm in height" expressing - (i) the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months and of continued breastfeeding up to 2 years or beyond; and (ii) the recommended age of introduction which is not less than 6 months and a statement that early introduction of complementary foods negatively affects breastfeeding. (c) the material promoting a complementary food product does not contain a text, image or other representation that - (i) suggests the suitability of the product for infants under 6 months including references to development milestones clearly reached before 6 months or the use of pictures of infants appearing to be younger than 6 months; (ii) idealises the product or is likely to undermine or discourage breastfeeding or create a belief that the product is equivalent or superior to breastmilk; (iii) undermines or discourages appropriate complementary feeding or that may suggest that the product is inherently superior to home-prepared complementary foods (d) the material promoting a complementary food does not contain - (i) a recommendation to feed the product in a bottle or anything that otherwise promotes the use of bottle feeding; (ii) an endorsement, or anything that may be conveyed or construed as an endorsement by a health professional, an association of health professional or other body; or (iii) any element that allows for cross promotion of any other designated (5) (a) A person who contravenes subsection (1) (2) or (4) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 50,000,000.00 Leones or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years. (b) A health worker or an association of workers who contravenes sub-section (3)commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 10,000,000 Leones or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months.