BETH ANN LOPEZ
EARLIER this week at the United Nations’ World Health Assembly in Geneva, the United States threatened Ecuador with punishing trade measures and the withdrawal of military aid if the country signed a resolution to “protect, promote and support breastfeeding.” Ecuador agreed to drop the language in fear of retaliation — until Russia stepped in and the United States backed down. It was a shocking moment in international public health. The US — the largest contributor to the World Health Organization — actively sought to undermine decades of infant health research and progress in the interest of the global $70 billion formula industry.