Iodized Salt: Such A Little Thing, Such A Big Benefit
PRESS RELEASE Iodized Salt: Such A Little Thing, Such A Big Benefit On Monday, November 14, 2005 took place the second national conference: ”Iodized Salt: Such A Little Thing, Such A Big Benefit”. The conference brought together representatives of the Ministry of Health, of the National Committee for IDD Elimination, of UNICEF Romania and of the County Health Directorates, specialists in endocrinology and representatives of the salt and bread baking industry. The purpose of the conference was sharing information and experience regarding the impact of salt iodization on the health of the population. Also, there was discussed implementation stage of the National Strategy on the elimination of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) and there were presented the National Centre for IDD Elimination and its webpage – http://www.iod.ro/. During the ‘40s and the ‘60s, in This is why in April 2002 the Ministry of Health organized together with UNICEF Romania the first National Conference on IDD elimination. On this occasion, recommendations were made with respect to the information of the population and the setup of an institutional and legislative frame for the elimination of IDD. The legislation regarding the iodization of the salt for human consumption was adopted in 2003 and modified in 2004. In 2004 the Government adopted the National Strategy on the elimination of IDD and the National Committee for the elimination of IDD was officially acknowledged. The study carried out in 2004 by the Institute for Mother and Child Care (IOMC) with the support of UNICEF Romania showed that the iodine nutrition status of the population has improved. The iodine level for the school children (children with ages between 6-7 years) is close to normal, and that there are fewer pregnant women suffering from iodine deficiency than in the previous years. Nonetheless, the ratio of the pregnant women with various degrees of iodine deficiency is still high (65%), and the iodine deficiency of newborns is higher than that of their mothers. “The decrease of iodine deficiency is one of the constant concerns of the Ministry of Health. In this respect, we will initiate a project for the amendment of the current legislation in order to increase the level of iodine in salt and we will launch soon a new national campaign in order to inform the population on the benefits of iodized salt consumption. In order to eliminate IDD, we will strengthen our collaboration with the representatives of the salt and baking industries, as well as with other representatives of the food industry,” declared Mr. Ervin Zoltan Szekely, State Secretary for the Relation with the Parliament and the Trade Unions within the Ministry of Health. “It is absolutely necessary that we continue our efforts for the elimination of IDD at national level. Eliminating the IDD would mean that in Romania more children will be born and will grow up in good health, children who will have better results in school and who will become strong, healthy adults,” declared Mr. Pierre Poupard, UNICEF Representative in Romania. Healthy people need iodine, an essential component of the thyroid hormones. The iodine deficiency has the most devastating effect on the human brain, during the growth period. In the areas with severe iodine deficiency most people run the risk of a certain mental deficiency. Its acuteness can vary from a mild slowing down of the psychic processes to cretinism, a disease including major mental retardation, deafness and muteness, small height and various other flaws.
Contact Persons: Dr. Mioara Predescu, Coordinator of the National Centre for IDD Elimination, phone: (+40 21) 318.36.20 extension 178; Codruţa Hedeşiu, Communication Officer, UNICEF Romania, phone: (+40 21) 201.78.64.
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