PIP: During 1 of many frequent visits to Leksana village in Central Java in Indonesia, a public health specialist noted an observation made by a leader of village development activities, the wife of the village head. The woman spoke of the decline in infant deaths in the community while the public health specialist and Burmese visitors watched activities involving weighing of children 5 years old. She led the group to the local cemetery to witness direct evidence of her claim. Indeed the considerable decline in infant graves supported her claim. The group discussed possible reasons for the improvement in child survival. Family incomes rose as evidenced by increased onion crops and soybean planting and prosperous clove and cashew harvests. In fact, the village could better market produce since the men improved the roads. Consumption of goat milk had increased in Leksana. These factors indicated better nutritional status. In fact, improved nutritional status most likely resulted in healthier mothers who experienced less anemia thereby contributing to a reduction in infant mortality. A family planning program served the community. Further a new junior high school in a nearby village allowed more children to attend school longer. What the village leader indeed do was discover a new way of measuring community development--using infant mortality. All these improved indicators contributed to healthy infants of good size which bettered their ability to fight infection.