New partnership to scale up AI-powered Code monitoring platform to protect infant and child health in Malaysia

Source: Alive & Thrive

Alive & Thrive has embarked on a new partnership with UNICEF Malaysia to bring its comprehensive Code Monitoring Digital Platform to the country. At the center of this initiative is VIVID (Virtual Violations Detector), an AI-powered tool designed to support regulators in monitoring marketing of commercial milk formula and related products in the digital and other environments against the national standards and the International Code.

In October, representatives from UNICEF Malaysia, Alive & Thrive, and other partners gathered for a kick-off meeting, marking an important milestone in protecting infant health and helping families make informed feeding decisions.

Supporting Effective Regulation in the Digital Age

As digital advertising grows rapidly, regulators face the ongoing challenge of monitoring thousands of advertisements across multiple platforms in real time. Traditional manual monitoring simply can't keep up with the speed and volume of online marketing.

Malaysia's Code monitoring platform tackles this challenge by using AI to automatically scan online advertisements, verify compliance with the national regulations and International Code, spot potential violations, and flag content that needs regulatory review. Meanwhile, the online public reporting feature still ensures citizen and civil society’s direct participation in Code monitoring beyond the digital platforms, providing a public platform to report violations in other settings such as health facilities and retail outlets.

Successful Scaling Across Countries and Sectors

Since its inception, VIVID has been successfully deployed in Argentina, France, Mexico, Mongolia, Laos, and Viet Nam. The technology's proven effectiveness has led to its further adaptation for monitoring marketing compliance in other regulated industries, including alcohol, tobacco, and online gambling, demonstrating its versatility as a public health protection tool.