National campaign steps up efforts to combat iodine deficiency disorder
CAIRO: Efforts in a national campaign against iodine deficiency disorder (IDD), the single most important preventable cause of brain damage and retardation among children, have been stepped up following a training workshop held by UNICEF Egypt and USAID for the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP), the National Nutrition Institute and salt producers in the country.
Iodine deficiency is a major public health problem for populations throughout the world, particularly for pregnant women and young children, making it a threat to the social and economic development of countries. Iodine deficiency occurs when iodine intake falls below recommended levels. When such a drop occurs, the thyroid may no longer be able to synthesize sufficient amounts of thyroid hormone. The resulting low level of thyroid hormones in the blood is the principal factor responsible for the damage done to the developing brain and the other harmful effects known collectively as iodine deficiency disorders.
At critical stages during the second trimester of pregnancy to early childhood, iodine deficiency results in impaired development of the brain and consequently in impaired mental function
In Egypt, it is especially hard to track IDD because data regarding the disorder is scarce and lacking. However, the tests and data that have been undertaken in the country have identified Upper Egypt as the highest risk IDD area of the country, including the governorates of Minya, Beni Suef, Menoufia and Sharqiya.
Since the early 1990s, a nationwide program supported by UNICEF has made good progress in ensuring that all Egyptian households have access to iodized salt.
However, the government has acknowledged that more efforts are required to ensure adequate quality control of iodized salt, and to monitor its consumption, especially in high-risk areas of the country.
A number of factories continue to produce non-iodized salt, which is sold at cheaper prices on local markets. The problem is compounded by a lack of public awareness about the importance of consuming the iodized variety.
To combat the problem of awareness, UNICEF Egypt conducted a four-day workshop in Fayoum in two stages. A group of 11 would-be national trainers received training before conducting their own two-day training session for 21 health and food inspection workers and others from the governorate of Fayoum. The graduated trainers will repeat the training later this year in the governorates that have been identified as high-risk governorates for the IDD problem.
The sessions dealt with the background of IDD in Egypt and the central role of iodine in combating it.
Ensuring that the population has adequate intake of iodine can prevent IDD. Since the mid-1990s, universal salt iodization (USI) has been seen as the most cost-effective, sustainable and safe means of ensuring that every individual, children in particular, receive their daily iodine requirement.
Attendees from the salt industry were informed on the production, monitoring, control and marketing of iodized salt. They also got the chance to see the use of iodization technology first-hand during a field visit to the Emisal salt production facility in Fayoum.
Working in partnership with MOHP and other partners, UNICEF supports the procurement of potassium iodate for use by salt producing plants in Alexandria, Port-Said, North Sinai and Fayoum. In addition, salt testing kits have also been provided to help ministry officials determine levels of salt iodization in factories, shops and households.
Last year, a comprehensive assessment of salt production, consumption and iodization in Egypt produced a series of recommendations to achieve universal iodization. MOHP, the National Nutrition Institute, and UNICEF are currently working together to achieve virtual elimination of IDD within the next three years.
According to Dr. Esmat Mansour, head of Integrated Health Care and Nursing at MOHP, while the trend in tackling the issue of IDD in Egypt is extremely positive, more effort is required to ensure quality control of iodized salt and to monitor its consumption, especially in high-risk areas of the country, she stated in her opening remarks at a workshop held by UNICEF and MOHP last year.
