Policy Tools

LINKAGES created tools to aid in policy dialogue and decision making. These tools include a model to raise awareness among policy makers of the potential benefits of improved infant and young child feeding and a model to help policy makers identify the infant feeding strategy most likely to maximize HIV-free survival under different conditions.

• A Policy Analysis Tool for Calculating the Health, Child Spacing, and Economic Benefits of Breastfeeding (BOB)

The spreadsheet tool consists of seven worksheets: 1) introduction, 2) assumptions, 3) breastmilk production, 4) health, 5) survival, 6) fertility, and 7) summary. The spreadsheets estimate the effects of breastfeeding on a variety of functional outcomes with public policy significance.

• A Guide for Calculating the Benefits of Breastfeeding (BOB)

The guide offers detailed guidance for users of the “Policy Analysis Tool for Calculating the Health, Child Spacing, and Economic Benefits of Breastfeeding (BOB)” and identifies the main features of the tool’s seven worksheets and the basis for calculations.

• A Spreadsheet Model to Estimate the Effects of Different Infant Feeding Strategies on Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and on Infant Mortality

The spreadsheet simulation model predicts HIV-free survival during several age intervals from 0 to 24 months for five different infant feeding scenarios in resource-poor settings.