One set of calculations for the optimum' period of lockdown was published by Professor Philip Thomas of Bristol University. It is an interesting, fascinating and informative scientific paper even if you can't get your head around the mathematics.
There are many ways to calculate the 'worth' of a life (or more correctly the value of a year of life extension) and answers range from millions of dollars if you are a rich American down to 29 pence - the cost of a rehydration kit for children suffering from 'third world' diseases such a typhoid. This can make the difference between death and maybe 40 years of useful life. I used to lecture on these topics many years ago!
In my even younger days, when I was a government energy scientist, we were busy calculating the optimum thickness of insulation for buildings - one factor was the 'excess' deaths that occurred in a harsh UK winter (about 30,000 of them) compared to countries such as Sweden where winters and insulation of buildings were taken more seriously. All great fun if you understand marginal cost benefit calculations - which some government ministers appear never to have comprehended.
I also recall that, back in the 1980s, about 30,000 children died every DAY in Africa from malnutrition. I have no idea of the current figure.
