Code for breastfeeding should be strengthened – Top Medical Expert

By Rashida Rehmanjee  

Asserting that she resisted sponsorships for events from the milk powder industry, former President of Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians Dr. Ramya de Silva said that the code for breast feeding should be strengthened since there are loopholes in the current one. 

She said the existing code allows professional bodies to accept sponsorships from the industry without any form of advertisement.   

Addressing a workshop for the media personnel, she said the College of Paediatricians had taken the initiative to support and promote the act of breastfeeding as its leading role.  

She said that the cost of conducting annual scientific conferences to discuss the benefits of breastfeeding, in a medical sense with foreign experts are very expensive.  

However, in 2016 during her year as the President, she said she managed to conduct the conference without any assistance from sponsors. She mentioned that she declined an offer from the milk powder industry- a decision that her council fully supported.