Commercial Determinants and Conflicts of Interest in Public Health and Policy
The urgent need to end sponsorship of healthcare professional associations by the commercial milk formula industry

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fhj.2025.100265Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
Open access

Abstract

Sponsorship of healthcare professional associations (HCPAs) by the commercial milk formula (CMF) industry violates the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. The financial ties and conflicts of interests brought about by such sponsorship distort education, research and practices in ways which undermine breastfeeding and compromise maternal and child health. The Health Advocates for Sponsorship-Free Feeding (HASFF) working group, convened by the World Health Organization, aims to address these challenges and has developed a range of tools and resources to support and encourage other HCPAs to end sponsorship from the CMF industry.

Keywords

Sponsorship
Conflict of interests
Infant feeding
Commercial determinants of health
Health professional associations
International code

Abbreviations

CMF
commercial milk formula
HCPA
healthcare professional association
HASFF
Health Advocates for Sponsorship-Free Feeding
WHA
World Health Assembly
WHO
World Health Organization

Cited by (0)

This article reflects the opinions of the author(s) and should not be taken to represent the policy of the Royal College of Physicians unless specifically stated.
© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Royal College of Physicians.