In 1997, a postal ballot organized by the South Asia region resulted in the election of a representative based in the BPNI in Delhi. This organization has been working for more than 13 years and spearheaded the court case against Nestle for violating the Indian Law apart from its functions to social mobilization and training of health workers. Fortunately, DGIS grant (1999-2002) helped strengthen the South Asia IBFAN as RCO. The support has worked positively in increasing BPNI/IBFAN South Asia’s capacity for the national and regional level action for building capacity and networking.

IBFAN South Asia has the experience of organizing a Regional Breastfeeding Counseling Course for WHO SEARO in 1998, South Asian World Breastfeeding Week Planning meeting with WABA in 1999, and a South Asia IBFAN Training Seminar in 2000. It also organized IBCoCo meeting in 2002 and LFA training for SA groups in October 2002. BPNI is also the host to Asia Pacific Conference on Breastfeeding in 2003 and Infant Feeding & HIV: A Regional Colloquium held in 2003. In 2004 it organized Project Development and Planning Workshop in Nepal and South Asia Breastfeeding Partners Forum in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

In the year 2000, IBFAN South Asia was included as a part of worldwide IBFAN project funded by the DGIS and carried out several activities including training of trainers in breastfeeding and complementary feeding counseling, networking, and notable among these activities was disbursement of capacity building grants to more than 15 groups/researchers from the region which has helped them to initiate breastfeeding action locally as well as building capacity to raise local funds.

Sources of funding for IBFAN South Asia/BPNI
IBFAN, as a policy, does not accept funds or sponsorship of any kind from the companies producing breast milk substitutes, feeding bottles, related equipments, or Infant foods (cereal foods). The grant of 100000 SF each year for 2000-2002 as the IBFAN South Asia under the IBFAN –GIFA project “Strengthening breastfeeding at Grassroots level” from the Dutch Ministry of Development and Cooperation (DGIS) has been a major source from outside India. UNICEF India and UNICEF Luxembourg and Government of Luxembourg have also contributed during the year 2001 and 2002. Other one time funding sources include OXFAM UK, Hilden’s Trust UK, WHO- SEARO, WABA and IBFAN.

Success story
Networking with groups in countries of South Asia, and advocacy by BPNI has led to successful results including increased maternity leave by the government of Bangladesh and stimulating action in Nepal and Sri Lanka among professionals, NGOs, Women’s organizations and government. Pakistan has just signed a decree to implement the Code. Maldives already has groups trained in Breastfeeding and advocacy and planning. Afghanistan and Bhutan groups are being identified. A resource center for infant and young child feeding issues has been started at New Delhi. Training programs have been successfully organized in the region; capacity building of the groups in the region of South Asia has yielded useful results. In India, the Government of India recently strengthened the existing Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 1992 (IMS Act) to harmonize it with the WHA resolutions of 2001 & 2002 and the Global Strategy. The Act has been enacted in June and it is effective from January 2004. Under the newly amended Act, all forms of promotion of infant formula and foods have been prohibited and the baby food manufacturers will not be able to ‘advertise’ or promote any foods for children under the age of two years.

IBFAN Asia Pacific of South Asia region consist of following countries: