The aggressive promotion of breast-milk substitutes in the Pacific is misleading parents and putting babies lives at risk, according to a new report.
The report, from the World Health Organisation and the UN Children's agency UNICEF, said only two countries in the region, Fiji and Palau, had strong laws and regulations to protect families from false claims about the safety and role of breast milk substitutes.
UNICEF's Pacific representative, Sheldon Yett, said inappropriate marketing of substitutes was distorting the truth, which was that exclusive breastfeeding was the ideal scenario and could prevent deaths.
"It reduces death from acute respiratory infection, it reduces death from diarrhea and it reduces deaths from other infections diseases.
"So it is one of the best things you can do for your child, is ensure exclusive breast-feeding for the first six months," Mr Yett said.
He said on average half of infants in the region were breast fed exclusively but the aim was to increase that to 70 percent by 2030.
The WHO and UNICEF says exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months is the best thing you can do for a baby. Photo: UNICEF Pacific