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We were all shocked recently by the President's pronouncement that
women must marry and must have children, as a means of getting "extra
training". Telling single women they are "a problem in our society"
not only contradicts the fundamental tenets of our Constitution, but
sows shame and a sense of worthlessness among South Africa's women.

The IFP believes the Department of Health is also guilty of bullying
women, through the aggressive social message that every woman can and
every woman must breastfeed for two years. While the IFP supports the
promotion of breastfeeding as a healthy and cost effective option, we
do not agree with telling women, as the Department does, that if
breastfeeding is not an enjoyable experience, "you are not doing it
properly".

Breastfeeding is a sensitive topic that affects a particularly
vulnerable group of people. Recently, South Africa saw the first
recorded case of a baby, whose mother is HIV negative, contracting HIV
from the breast milk of a well-meaning aunt acting as a surrogate
feeder or "wet nurse".

Clearly the Department's aggressive campaign to ensure that every
child is breastfed - which has included withdrawing provision of
formula from clinics and hospitals - is forcing women to turn to
surrogate feeders.

For the many women who cannot breastfeed exclusively for six months,
due to illness, complications, work commitments and a whole host of
other reasons, taking away free formula spells disaster.

The IFP wonders what these mothers are feeding their babies, if they
can't breastfeed and can't afford formula - which costs about R430 a
month.

For this reason, the IFP is calling on the Department of Health to
increase vigilance at clinics across South Africa when it comes to
malnutrition in babies and to register every case of malnutrition, so
that the Department may have reliable statistics to determine whether
malnutrition is rising or decreasing since the decision to withdraw
provision of formula.

We call on the Department to check the figures for the past five
months specifically, since the implementation of the breastfeeding
campaign, to see whether it is having a beneficial impact. The IFP
will be posing questions in Parliament to the Minister of Health in
this regard.

We will also ask what measures the Department of Health has put in
place to prevent HIV transmission through surrogate breastfeeding. It
may very well be that the Department's aggressive breastfeeding
campaign could lead to an increase in HIV infections amongst babies
and infants.

Depending on the Minister's response, the IFP will consider lodging a
complaint with the relevant Chapter Nine institutions.

The IFP is concerned that the withdrawal of the provision of formula
is in contravention of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
According to the Convention, the parents or others responsible for the
child have the primary responsibility to secure, within their
abilities and financial capacities, the conditions of living necessary
for the child's development.

The state must take appropriate measures to assist parents and others
responsible for the child to implement this right and shall, in case
of need, provide material assistance and support programmes,
particularly with regard to nutrition.

It would appear that the Department of Health is failing this article
of the Convention.