Infant nutrition not good enough for WHO

Currently, no more than 35 per cent of infants worldwide are exclusively breastfed during even the first four months of life, according to WHO. Yet breastfeeding provides all the nutrients, antibodies, hormones, immune factors and antioxidants an infant needs to thrive and has been shown to protect babies from diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections.

Complementary feeding however frequently begins too early or too late, and foods are often nutritionally inadequate and unsafe, said the WHO, launching the strategy along with children's charity Unicef.

The strategy comes as Europe's infant nutrition companies increasingly consolidate and look for entrance to new markets, often in developing world countries. Swiss food group Hero, which recently bought Wander's infant food business, is seeking to develop new baby markets in North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. Meanwhile market leader Numico has said it is looking for acquisitions in China and Russia.

Research continues to highlight the nutritional benefits of breast milk for babies, leading to criticism of formula makers. A recent study found that babies aged from two to three months are less likely to suffer from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SID) if they are breastfed.

This and other findings may be playing a role in declining formula sales in developed markets. In the US, formula milk's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) declined by 2.9 per cent in 2002 and by 0.5 per cent in 2003, according to MarketResearch.com.

"Exclusive breastfeeding in the first half-year of life and continued breastfeeding coupled with appropriate foods reduce the number of children under five who die from malnutrition,"​ said Dr Jong-wook Lee, director-general of WHO, unveiling the strategy in New York yesterday.

Malnutrition is associated with more than 50 per cent of deaths among children under five, suggests Unicef data.