Created to communicate with policymakers, PROFILES offers a way to engage national leaders in policy dialogue about public health nutrition. PROFILES examines a status quo scenario that demonstrates the future nutritional status for a population and the costs to society and the government if nothing is done to address nutrition problems. A second scenario shows the impact of the proposed interventions policymakers are asked to support. The costs and benefits of improving nutritional status are calculated and graphically presented in a simple fashion, allowing policymakers to immediately see the functional outcomes of program investments.

 
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PROFILES encourages program planners to examine potential payoffs of alternative program approaches. Its quantification of assumptions enables program planners to think about coverage, costs, and desired impact in a structured way. In addition, the process of collecting data for PROFILES and creating scenarios is valuable in generating and focusing dialogue about key program issues.

By learning to manipulate models, and by becoming familiar with the supporting scientific literature, users gain an appreciation of the different functional consequences of malnutrition and the role of different interventions.

• Lives saved by reducing underweight among children under five
• Maternal mortality due to iron deficiency anemia
• Neonatal and Postneonatal Infant Deaths Attributable to Low Birthweight
• Neonatal and Postneonatal Infant Heath Care Savings from Reducing Low Birth Weight