Kathy Dettwyler is absolutely right. Babies die of formula feeding in many countries not only because the mothers cannot afford the formula in the first place. Even with adequate amounts of formula babies will die because of many reasons, but including lack of clean water, lack of fuel to boil water, and the heavy burden of infection against which the babies will not be able to defend themselves. If the formula companies not only provide free formula, but also provide the resources to assure clean water, fuel to boil water, and fund the public health measures necessary to decrease the risk of infection, *maybe* the policy of formula for babies of HIV positive mothers would be reasonable--and even then. And it is not just in Africa that this is an issue. There are Canadian and American families living in third world conditions. But we prefer to forget about them. Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC