DRAP orders breastfeeding warning on formula milk packaging
Manufacturers and importers must print the line "Mother's milk is best for babies" in Urdu and English, including on products for children aged one to three.
The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has made it mandatory for formula milk manufacturers and importers to print a breastfeeding advisory on product packaging and labels in Urdu and English, ARY News reported.
The prescribed wording is "Mother's milk is best for babies". DRAP also asked companies to carry information on the benefits and importance of breastfeeding on the information panels of their products. The instruction covers formula milk intended for children aged between one and three years, and the authority told all manufacturers and importers concerned to comply.
DRAP issued the directions after the Senate Standing Committee on Health called for a statement on the benefits of mother's milk to appear on formula milk packaging.
The Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination was told on November 3 that a stay order obtained by Nestle from the Islamabad High Court had affected implementation of its directions on formula milk advertising, Minute Mirror reported. Senator Amir Waliuddin Chishti chaired the meeting at Parliament House, which the federal health minister and senior officials attended.
PEMRA told the committee the disclaimer had been broadcast on 29 television channels and that work was continuing on the others. It said it had written three letters to the Pakistan Broadcasters Association. Chishti said the law had to be implemented, that formula milk advertisements were banned in 89 countries, and referred to the 2023 Lancet series on the commercial formula milk industry.
Senator Shahzaib Durrani said the importance of mother's milk had to be communicated to the public. Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri warned against misleading claims about formula milk and child growth and called for a review of nutrition regulations. Senator Anusha Rahman Ahmed Khan questioned PEMRA's authority and said directions should be issued through the relevant ministry and then passed to the regulator, referring to Section 7 of the ordinance that restricts formula milk advertisements.
The federal health minister acknowledged concern about maternal malnutrition in Pakistan and said instructions had been issued to prepare an advertisement on breastfeeding. DRAP told the committee that formula milk falls within its regulatory remit as an alternative medicine. A representative of the Council of Islamic Ideology said a detailed response supporting breastfeeding had been submitted.
ARY News quoted Dr Khalid Shafi, secretary-general of the Pakistan Pediatric Association, saying no formula can replace mother's milk. He said newborns should get mother's milk within the first hour of birth and exclusively for six months, and that Pakistan's high infant mortality is linked to poor nutrition and care, with missed vaccinations leaving infants exposed to diarrhoea and pneumonia.
How the reports differ
ARY News reported the DRAP instruction as covering product packaging and labels, and did not mention any court order. Minute Mirror reported that the Senate committee was told a stay obtained by Nestle from the Islamabad High Court had held up directions on formula milk advertising, and did not report a new packaging directive. Minute Mirror's account also covered the committee's other business, including registration concerns raised for about 20,000 microbiology, biotechnology and biochemistry graduates.
Health minister orders DRAP to test baby formula
Senators on the health committee pressed for enforcement of the 2002 breastfeeding law after a company challenged a disclaimer notice in court.
Health minister says barcode scan will flag fake medicines from November
Mustafa Kamal told the National Assembly that hospitals will also have to buy all vaccines from Pakistan's own funds by 2030, at a cost of about $1.2 billion.
PM orders petrol pump licences cancelled over fuel subsidy failures
The relief programme runs to at least end-December, with about Rs28 billion spent and roughly 15 million people paid directly so far.
ECC approves Rs380bn grants, Rs275bn for five water projects
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired the meeting, which also cleared around Rs84bn for the armed forces and extended gas supply to two Punjab fertiliser plants until Dec 31.
UN rights panel welcomes Pakistan's marriage age law, questions bonded labour
Committee reviewing Pakistan's second periodic report asked about child brides, debt bondage in brick kilns and the 600,000 of 2.1 million flood-hit homes rebuilt.
Pakistan seeks Turkish help to make FMD vaccine at home
A Turkish expert delegation will visit soon to explore the collaboration, which Islamabad links to disease-free zones and wider meat exports.
PAC summons FIA chief over Rs165.6m Austria embassy fraud
Audit officials told the committee an accountant moved the money into accounts held by himself and his wife; he was arrested and later released on bail.
Election Commission objects to retired judge's remarks on 2023 polls ruling
Dawn reports the commission took exception to Mansoor Ali Shah's comments at an October 29 event about his dissent and the PTI reserved seats case.