Dear Secretary Azar:
Photo by pablo via Flickr.
On behalf of the members of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, and the students, faculty and leadership of America’s public health schools and programs, I write to express our disappointment and dismay at the United States’ efforts to block a resolution offered at the World Health Assembly that called on all governments to “protect, promote and support breast-feeding.” We ask that you clarify the United States’ position on breastfeeding, including why we apparently now are opposed to its promotion and why the United States also now apparently is opposing efforts to limit the inaccurate or misleading marketing of breast milk substitutes. Lastly, since you led the U.S. delegation to the World Health Assembly, we ask you to explicitly state who approved this radical change in U.S. policy.