UNICEF launches special salt-iodisation campaign

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), jointly with the government, has launched a schools-based national campaign to address the issue of iodine-deficiency disorders in Uzbekistan. During the campaign, over 6 million children in almost 10,000 schools country-wide are expected to test their household salt for iodine content. The testing has been organised by UNICEF and the ministries of health and education. "This campaign is about promotion of the use of iodised salt, and we are doing it through the schools," Brenda Vigo, the head of the UNICEF's Uzbekistan country office, told IRIN from the capital, Tashkent, on Tuesday. "It is very significant, because the children are involved and made aware of the importance and the value of iodine and iodised salt, and also the problems associated with the deficiency in iodine." UNICEF said in a statement that more than 50 percent of the country's population was affected by iodine-deficiency disorders, and that the most effective method of providing iodine was through salt. The campaign aimed to heighten awareness of the health hazards to children arising from dietary deficiencies, UNICEF said in a press release. It said small amounts of iodine were essential for the healthy development of children, failing which, or if their mothers had been iodine deficient during pregnancy, the children might suffer mental disabilities or delayed physical or mental development. The campaign would not be just a one-day exercise in the schools, but a continuing process, in the course of which teachers would make the issue part of their curricula, Vigo added. "The students are expected to become advocates and promoters of the use of iodised salt in their schools, community and families", with the aim of inculcating the general public with knowledge of the importance of using iodised salt, she stressed. "At the moment there is a difference in the price between the iodised salt and non-iodised salt," said Vigo, with the result that people were buying the non-iodised product because it was cheaper. "But we hope that with this campaign and with the help of the children, the families will [get to] know the value of the iodised salt and they will buy it," she said. Meanwhile, the government has established a National Salt Producers' Association as an important partner in the campaign, whose role will be to promote the exclusive production of iodised salt. The Uzbek government is also reportedly drafting a new law which is expected to establish a legal framework to oblige manufacturers to iodise their product.