HOW AN AWARENESS CAMPAIGN SAVES MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

According to this report, import of full cream powdered milk declined by 20 percent over the last 14 years in Bangladesh, mainly due to the success of breast-feeding campaign in the country. Bangladesh has a shortage of production of fresh milk in the country. The import of powdered milk has dropped by $15 million dollars from 1989 due to success of the campaign lead by the Bangladesh Breast-feeding Foundation (BBF). The organization says that the achievement is more than the amount of money, if the population in the two years -- 110 million in 1989 and 130 million in 2003 -- is taken into consideration.

Researchers found breast milk to be the best diet for infants and children up to two years, when the base of physical and mental development including intelligence of the children takes place. But the campaign is hampered by aggressive marketing of foreign powdered milk and baby food companies, which try to persuade the mothers, even pediatrician, to give their product items to the children as a replacement of breast-milk.