Mother milk and the Indonesian economy: a major national resource
Rohde, J.E.
Journal of Tropical Pediatrics 28(4): 166-174
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0142-6338 PMID: 7131621 DOI: 10.1007/bf02816981Document Number: 389356
An estimation of the economic value of mother's milk to the Indonesian economy is made by calculating the sum of is direct net food value, the savings in national health expenditures, and the cost of equivalent fertility reduction by the use of clinical contraceptives. While health and nutritional considerations have proven the ideal nature of mother's milk as an infant food, policy-makers have failed to recognize the value of this milk to the economy of developing nations. Indonesian mothers currently produce over 1 billion liters/year, having an estimated net market value of over 0.4 billion US dollars. Further savings in health and fertility reduction directly attributable to lactation add another $120 million to the economy. Further, the value of mother's milk in Indonesia exceeds the gross monetary value of tin and coffee, approaches that of rubber and imported rice, and twice exceeds the annual national budget for health. Positive governmental action is needed to curtail the actions of private industry, professional groups, and international assistance (which provide and promote various other kinds of milks) to preserve this greatest Indonesian natural resource. (wz)
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