Thank you, Tony, for such a moving tribute to Adriano. I met him, also, through our advocacy for sponsorship free feeding. I first heard him speak at an Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine European Regional Meeting in Lisbon and was honored to have the opportunity to work with him through HASFF as well. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting him last May in Tallinn for the EABM conference and found him to be as warm in person as he always seemed when working with him. His passing is a loss to all those he touched directly and indirectly. He will be missed.
Rima Strassman, MD, NABBLM-C, FABM
CHIFA profile:
Rima L. Strassman is a Medical Director with Lactation Services, St. Luke's University Health Network in the United States and has a professional interest in breastfeeding and lactation medicine, paediatrics, child and adolescent health, and family health.
The message above is a response to the messaage thread as follows:
1.
Tony Waterston, UK
on December 20
On the day his funeral takes place in Trieste, Italy I would like to send a tribute to my good friend and colleague Dr Adriano Cattaneo, an epidemiologist who brought passion as well as intellectual rigour to his work on breastfeeding support and advocacy.
I first met him as a fellow campaigner against milk formula marketing at a time when ISSOP was building a case against conflict of interest among paediatricians and national paediatric societies. I found him to be a global authoritative voice on this topic and active with IBFAN, the International Baby Food Action Network. At that time (and indeed in the present) he was very critical of the Italian paediatric societies which all (apart from the small multi disciplinary society of which he was proud) took sponsorship funding from formula companies.
We met again through the WHO in the formation of HASFF (Health Advocates for Sponsorship Free Feeding) which aims to end the so damaging funding of health professional associations by the commercial formula industry. As chair of HASFF he was clear headed, fastidious, far sighted and always prepared to take on new challenges. Although we never met in person, I consider him a close friend and colleague and always intended to visit him in Trieste. His short illness was associated with a cerebral haemorrage as well as a cycle accident and his loss was unexpected and a huge blow to the worldwide breastfeeding community as well as to his wife, children and grandchildren. His legacy on the strong need for breastfeeding support will last for generations.
Tony Waterston
CHIFA profile:
Tony Waterston is a retired consultant paediatrician who worked mainly in the community in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. He spent 6 years working in Zambia and Zimbabwe and directed the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Diploma in Palestinian Child Health teaching programme in the occupied Palestinian territories. He was an Editor of the Journal of Tropical Pediatrics and is on the Executive Committee of the International Society for Social Pediatrics. His academic interests are child poverty, advocacy for child health and children's rights. He was the lead moderator of CHIFA (HIFA's sister forum on child health and rights) until November 2024. www.chifa.org
2.
Dear Tony and all
Tony, thank you for sharing the unfortunate news of Adriano's passing.
After I lobbied the editorial board to ban formula company advertising in the Journal of the Japanese Pediatric Society, which led to the closure of these advertisements, Tony included me in HASFF meetings. I have now handed my role over to a more suitable young researcher. I had the opportunity to interact with Adriano, albeit indirectly, and was drawn to his kind and sincere personality.
The ISSOP research team, the Commercial Determinants of Health in Children and Adolescents group, is currently working on a new project to review the CoDH-CA reviews. We hope to carry on his legacy and, together with him, take responsible action for the present and future of children.
May Adriano's soul rest in peace.
Kind regards、
Hajime Takeuchi
CHIFA profile:
Hajime Takeuchi is a professor at the Bukkyo University in Japan. Professional interests: child health, child poverty, child wellbeing. takechanespid@gmail.com He is a CHIFA Country Representative for Japan and a member of the CHIFA Steering Group (child health and rights) http://www.hifa.org/support/members/hajime takechanespid AT gmail.com
3.
Nick Spencer, UK
on December 21
Thanks Tony for a moving tribute to an exceptional academic, practitioner and campaigner
Nick
Professor Nick Spencer, Emeritus Professor of Child Health,
Division of Mental Health and Wellbeing,
Warwick Medical School,
University of Warwick, UK
ISSOP Past President
CHIFA profile:
Nick Spencer is Emeritus Professor of Child Health at the School of Health and Social Studies, University of Warwick in the UK. N.J.Spencer AT warwick.ac.uk