Iron Fortified Soy Sauce Project Cost - Benefit Analysis

Background:IDA is one of the most popular malnutrition diseases in China. Surveys conducted during last 20 years showed that the prevalence of anemia remain almost unchanged. IDA severely affects physical and cognitive development of infants and children, induces work productivity decline of adult labourers, results in lower body immune ability, and increases the risk of perinatal mortality and maternal mortality as well. Control and prevention of IDA is still a public health issue that needs to be urgently solved.Food fortification is recognized as a feasible, sustainable and effective nutrition intervention method. From 2004, Project of Aplication IFSS on ID and IDA Control and Prevention in China has been implemented. The project has achieved some optimistic results for ID and IDA control in terms of both biology and feasibility. The data collected from field observations enables a real fact based economic evaluation.which is suggested useful for consideration of further development of IFSS in China in near future.Objective:Cost-benefit analysis for IFSS project will supply important evidences for government/public organizations to identify health public health projects according to their priorities in order to distribute social resources more rational. To integrate and balance social benefit and IFSS company profit will enhance the motivation of IFSS manufacturers and distributors to participate into IFSS project. Data accumulated from the analysis will also assist other nutrition intervention projects in future by facilitating practical methodology.Methods:This study was designed to supply IFSS to all villagers in Dongtan village, Hebei province and collect cost data of purchasement and anemia prevalence after intervention.The benefits from IFSS intervention project include:the productivity recovered from improved physicial capaicity in the adults; the increased cognitive ability in children; the cost saved from the reduction of perinal mortality and maternal mortality. The costs include:iron fortificant, IFSS qulity control, advocacy, campaign and social marketing activies and project management as well.PROFILES model has been applied to the cost-benefit analysis of the IFSS project at three levels respectively on Dongtanshan villiage, Hebei province and whole country.Results:Based on the 10 years costs and benefits of the IFSS project, the benefit-cost ratio of the IFSS intervention in Dongtanshan village is 4.6, and the net benefit is 204,142 RMB, which is 5.1% of the total village GDP in 2009. If only consider the cost of iron fortificant and measurement for quality control, the benefit-cost ratio is 84.0.Assume per capital cost and the decreases of anemian prevalence in Hebei province and in China should be as same as those of Dongtanshan village, the benefit-cost ratio is 12.6, and the net benefit is 2.5% of total provincial GDP of Hebei province in 2007. The benefit-cost ratio of IFSS project for 10 years on a national scope is 13.3, and the net benefit is 2.3% of total national GDP of China in 2008.Conclusion:Result of the cost-benefit analysis suggests that IFSS promotion is a low cost and high yield public health project, and a feasible approach for ID and IDA control and prevention in China.