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Abstract
Human milk is a food that meets all conditions for an infant's nutrition security and
is the most important food for more than 10 percent of the population in Sub-Saharan
Africa (children less than three years of age). Statistics on production of human milk at
local and national levels are lacking for Africa. In this paper, the quantity of human milk
production in Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe is estimated. The annual production
in the urban and rural areas in a county in Mali is estimated at 13 and 17 kilograms per
capita, respectively. National annual median production is estimated to be between
144,000 (Mali) and 1.3 million metric tons (Nigeria), and production per capita between 8
(Zimbabwe) and 15 kilograms per year (Mali). In Sub-Saharan Africa, the production of
human milk is about 50 percent of that of cow's milk. The paper argues that overlooking
human milk production/consumption in data analysis and policymaking has negative
consequences for children's health and nutritional status.