[Top of Report] - [Top of Section] - [Next Page] - [Previous Page]
|
Bangladesh - swelling of the thyroid gland (goitre) is a visible sign of iodine deficiency. |
Lack of iodine in the diet has condemned millions of children to cretinism, tens of millions to mental retardation, and hundreds of millions to milder degrees of mental and physical impairment. In total, 1.6 billion people in over 100 countries are at some degree of risk. The solution - employed in Europe and North America since the 1920s - is to iodize all edible salt at a cost of about 5 cents per person per year.
At the beginning of the 1990s, most of the affected countries agreed to attempt the iodization of at least 90% of all edible salt by the end of 1995. With less than a year to go, about 50 countries have a realistic chance of reaching that goal. Many others will surpass the 80% mark - putting them in a good position to reach the year 2000 target of virtually eliminating iodine deficiency.
India, which produces over 5 million metric tons of salt a year, has made massive efforts in the 1990s and now iodizes about two thirds of its salt. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has reached the 90% target within the last 12 months.
Meanwhile, a recent analysis of 21 research studies has shown that moderate iodine deficiency is associated with an average reduction of over 13 IQ points.
The table below shows the percentages of domestic and imported salt iodized in countries affected by iodine deficiency.
The problem has not entirely disappeared from the industrialized nations. In Luxembourg, for example, average daily consumption of iodine is well below the recommended level, and a campaign is now under way to persuade all bakers in the Duchy to use iodized salt in bread.
Table salt
Iodine deficiency disorders can be eliminated by iodizing all salt.
% salt % salt % salt
iodized iodized iodized
Sub-Saharan Middle East South
Africa & N. Africa Asia
-----------------------------------------------------------
Cameroon 100 Iraq 91 Bhutan 100
Nigeria 96 Libya 90 India 65
Kenya 95 Algeria 80 Bangladesh 18
Rwanda 90 Iran 70 Nepal 18
Burundi 80 Turkey 31 Pakistan 11
Zambia 50 Syria 18* Sri Lanka 4
Sierra Leone 43 Jordan 2
Tanzania 32 Egypt 1
C. African Rep. 20 Morocco 0
Niger 1 Yemen 0
Angola 0*
Benin 0
Burkina Faso 0
Côte d'Ivoire 0*
Guinea-Bissau 0
Mali 0
Namibia 0*
Togo 0
East Asia Latin America Countries
& Pacific & Caribbean in transition
------------------------------------------------------------
Thailand 50* Panama 95* Macedonia 100
Viet Nam 24 El Salvador 92* Yugoslavia 80
Philippines 17 Bolivia 90 Croatia 75
Myanmar 7 Peru 90 Belarus 37*
Mongolia 0 Ecuador 85 Tajikistan 32*
Brazil 84 Hungary 10
Guatemala 80* Kazakhstan 10*
Chile 76 Ukraine 4*
Honduras 67* Romania 0
Venezuela 65* Russian Fed. 0*
Paraguay 48 Turkmenistan 0*
Dominican Rep. 2* Uzbekistan 0
Cuba 0*
*Figure for total salt may include salt which is exported.
Note: Only countries with salt iodization data are included.
Source: Updated from UNICEF Nutrition Section, Progress towards universal salt iodization, December 1994.