Syed Aamir Raza joined Nestlé Milkpak in Pakistan as a Medical Delegate in December 1994 at the age of 24. Working for a multinational company was a dream come true for the young Pakistani, and he was quickly indoctrinated with Nestlé's “Be the Best” slogan.

Aamir was responsible for promoting breastmilk substitutes and infant cereals. One of his first tasks was to run a baby show, organized by the Area Detailing Executive. Baby shows were popular with health workers and with mothers. They provided an opportunity for marketing staff to make direct contact with both and to display and promote the company's range of breastmilk substitutes. However, such activities are banned by the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (Article 5.5)* and Nestlé's own “Charter” because they undermine breastfeeding. More about The Code.

Nestlé's “Charter”

Aamir says he received no training from Nestlé on the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. But in December 1996 he received a copy of Nestlé's weaker version of it - known as the “Charter”.

“I was confused when I read the Charter” recounts Aamir. “It said Nestlé does not give gifts to doctors, but we did this. My bosses signed the cheques. The Charter said we did not make direct contact with mothers, but we held baby shows and, in clinics, we used Cerelac samples as a way of striking up conversations to push the milks. The Charter says Nestlé does not pay staff by incentives, but my salary revisions signed by the Marketing Manager, included incentives. Infant formula received the most points in the scheme. My bosses told me to do all these things which the Charter says we do not do.”

Crisis of conscience

In March 1997, a few months after first reading the Charter Aamir was visiting one of the 200 doctors on his circuit. This doctor was one of the very few who refused the gifts offered by Nestlé. The doctor was called from his office to attend a sick child, a child he could not save. “This is the result of marketing by people like you”, he told Aamir when he returned to his office. He explained that the child had been breastfed for just one month, when a doctor prescribed infant formula. Two months later the child fell ill with diarrhea. A month after that he was dead.

During training Aamir had been told to quickly say “breast is best” before launching into his sales pitch, but the risks associated with bottle feeding had not been explained. Leaving the doctor's clinic, he understood that unsafe bottle feeding could kill – and indeed had killed the child of the distraught parents he saw grieving outside the office. He was distressed.

Aamir returned home to his 2 year old son and pregnant wife and began to think about what he was doing. Investigating the matter further, he realized that the practices he was expected to carry out were contrary not only to the Code, but also to the company's own Charter. He needed to do something to stop these marketing practices which were clearly a deterrent to breastfeeding and were making many babies very ill.

‘As an example see this Pakistani mother and her twin babies. She was (incorrectly) advised by her mother-in-law that she could not possibly breastfeed twins. She should thus breastfeed the boy and bottle feed the girl ! The girl died the day after this picture was taken.’ Photo: UNICEF – Islamabad Children’s Hospital.

Actions are followed by threats

On April 30, 1997 Aamir resigned from his position in protest. He decided to take action to protect infant health and the well-being of families in his country by denouncing marketing practices that contravened the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. The Code has been endorsed by Canada as well as by over 160 countries at the World Health Assembly. UNICEF has stated: "Marketing practices that undermine breastfeeding are potentially hazardous wherever they are pursued: in the developing world, WHO estimates that some 1.5 million children die each year because they are not adequately breastfed. These facts are not in dispute. "** Hence the efforts of many infant health specialists, in Canada and around the world, to enforce compliance with the Code. More about The Code.

When Aamir asked the company to change its practices, he began to receive threats, both verbally and in writing, from both company officials and local physicians who had been benefiting from company practices. Following his conscience and acting in good faith, Aamir had not fully realized what he was up against. He refused the money he was offered by the company to drop the case and decided instead to take the matter to court. He did not have the funds to launch legal action on his own and was advised by his father to seek outside support to improve his chances of getting a fair hearing in the inefficient Pakistani court system. Bringing the case to the attention of international organizations, and of civil society organizations working for the interests of consumers in Pakistan, was considered the best way to get the attention of Pakistan authorities.

Aamir decided to publish the evidence for his claims in a book Milking Profits, which was launched in Berlin, Germany, on December 9, 1999, and in London, England, on February 15, 2000. More about Milking Profits. In late February, shortly after the launch, and just two days before he was due to testify in the British House of Commons, Aamir’s home in Pakistan was visited by two unknown men. The two fired 6 shots at his brother through an upstairs window after he refused to open the door and disclose Aamir’s whereabouts. Aamir made several attempts to alert Pakistan authorities, including the National Accountability Bureau, requesting their assistance and protection, for him and his family, but to no avail. In his book Milking Profits he brought to light the many benefits the medical community receives from the company. Denouncing these benefits is not popular with everyone and may have sparked retaliation from the medical community.

Applying for status in Canada

In May 2000 Aamir came to Canada at the invitation of INFACT Canada (Infant Feeding Action Coalition) to speak at the organization’s annual breastfeeding seminar in Toronto. He had been unable to secure police protection in Pakistan after the shooting, and a letter from the secretary of the chief executive of the country said that the Pakistan authorities would always protect multinationals who invest in the country. At this point, Aamir realized that his safety and his life would be in danger if he returned to Pakistan and decided to apply for refugee status in Canada. His application was denied in April 2001 because his case was misunderstood by the Immigration and Refugee Board judges, Hélène Panagakos and Roberto Colavecchio. Since May 2001 he has been seeking permanent resident status under exemption from the immigrant visa requirement based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. So far, his request has remained unanswered.

Aamir’s wife and two children (now 6 and 10) are still in Pakistan and he has not seen them for over 4 years. They had been living with his mother and father, who both died last year. His mother died after a fight of several months with cancer during which she was sometimes denied treatment because she was Aamir's mother.

His brother was also denied treatment by another doctor for a leg injury during the year. Thus the threats continue and they extend to his family.

Since the first year of his arrival in Canada, Aamir has worked nearly 60 hours a week to meet his needs and those of his family. His employers have always been very pleased with his work and have written letters of support on his behalf. His coworkers have done the same.

Well integrated into the local community, Aamir has been a model citizen and a model employee in Canada. But he still does not have permanent resident status. He has no passport, cannot travel to see his wife and children, and was unable to attend his mother or father’s funeral last year.

* All references to the Code also include the subsequent WHA resolutions which refer to it.

**UNICEF press release 14 January 1997 in response to the report Cracking the Code