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Approximately two billion people are suffering from deficiencies
in vitamins and minerals such as Iodine, Iron, Zinc and Vitamin A
This places a major global burden of disease on societies
of the world. Iron alone accounts, probably for 50% of all anemia cases worldwide
and leads to cognitive development impairment and to reduced
physical performance. Health economics is the science of calculating these
health conditions and translating those into monetary terms or
quality of life. The calculations are that Iron deficiency alone can
reduce wages up to 25% in adulthood and can lead to a reduced
GDP for societies that are particularly concerned in South Asia for example
of 1-2% reduced GDP. How to address these deficiencies is one
of the big public health challenges of the 21st century
One of the possibilities is food fortification thus enriching foods
with vitamins and key minerals such as iron. Particularly good
carriers for food fortification is animal sourced products and in particular
fortified milks. Recent research has shown that fortified milks can
reduce these deficiencies considerably and can be applied in public health settings
The health economics research has shown that a return on investment of
distributing widely fortified milks fortified foods shows gainings
of one dollar invested and three dollars gained of up to fifty dollars gained
In conclusion, fortification is highly cost effective and can be used as
a public health intervention