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Foreword
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There are three types of countries today with respect to IDD, and each requires a different set of messages for consumers.
Some countries, including some fairly large ones, are not iodizing salt at all or in negligible amounts. In those countries the priority is to get people to understand that they should no longer tolerate the fact that their government or their industry can’t put a little bit of iodine in salt. People need to be made aware that iodine deficiency is bad, it causes brain damage, it’s not the same as goiter, and that if government got their act together they’d put iodine in salt.
The second set of countries is well on the road to iodizing salt and needs just a little bit more of the same medicine. Government sectors should work together with industry to reach people not using iodized salt. They should consider how to approach people through somebody they trust, in language they understand, and with media that are familiar and believable, finding out what will motivate them to change their habits. But whatever strategy is chosen, people need some basic information about IDD so they will demand iodized salt and keep using it.
The third, growing set of countries is already largely consuming iodized salt, so that basic information is no longer relevant. In these countries, people need to be reminded, encouraged to observe, or given reports of the fact that indicators of iodine status have improved, that children’s intellectual development probably has improved as a result of this, and that they should therefore be sure they continue to take iodized salt and that the ancillary structures are in place to ensure that they get good quality iodized salt.
In the last two groups of countries you have many other messages. People should start to pay attention to the quality of salt they buy. They better try to make sure they buy a decent brand of iodized salt made by some reputable company that has a good chance of putting iodine into it. If they’re buying refined salt because they think it’s better quality, people should be sure they’re buying refined, iodized salt. They ought to look for the logo or the brand name or some proof that the salt’s iodized. And they ought to be able to ask their political leaders and their health officials to make sure that a brand of salt claiming to be iodized is in fact iodized, and if it isn’t to make sure that health inspectors or the authorities do what’s necessary to correct that.
Government regulations and advertising can only do so much. In the end, it is up to the people themselves to put health advice into practice. Consumers therefore need access to information that will motivate and empower them to choose iodized salt and demand good quality in the salt they buy.
David
Alnwick Venkatesh
Mannar
Chief, Nutrition Section, UNICEF
Executive Director, Micronutrient
Initiative