IRIN
AFGHANISTAN: National iodine campaign
20 April 2005


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United 
Nations]

KABUL, 20 April (IRIN) - A nationwide multi-media campaign was launched 
on Tuesday calling on Afghan families to use iodised salt, following new 
findings which indicate that Afghanistan is facing a high prevalence of 
iodine-deficiency disorders, including goitre, stunted physical growth 
and mental retardation.

The campaign is using radio and television spots, posters and banners 
and point-of-sale information leaflets that will show consumers the 
benefits of consuming iodised salt.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) less than 
one-third of households in Afghanistan use iodised salt - the simplest, 
cheapest and most sustainable way of introducing health-enhancing iodine 
into the diet.

Iodine deficiency is believed to result in 500,000 babies being born 
each year in Afghanistan with intellectual impairment, while 70 percent 
of school-age children are iodine deficient, a UNICEF study in 2003 
indicates. Lack of iodine is thought to result in a reduction in IQ by 
as much as 15 percent.

"We have to increase the demand for iodised salt and that is why this 
campaign is being launched, it is all about getting people to go to the 
market place and choose iodised products instead of the non-iodised 
products," Edward Carwardine, a UNICEF spokesman, told IRIN as the 
campaign was launched in the capital, Kabul, on Tuesday.

"Certainly in terms of supply, there is enough to meet the needs of the 
whole population," Carwardine said, adding that there were 10 iodised 
salt production plants in the country.

The new campaign, led by the Ministry of Public Health with the support 
of UNICEF, builds upon a successful increase in the production of 
iodised salt following the establishment of iodised salt plants in 
Afghanistan since 2003, Carwardine added.

With the flowering of broadcast media in post-Taliban Afghanistan, radio 
and television are being utilised more widely for health education. The 
country has one of the lowest rates of literacy in the world, but there 
are more than 40 local radio and five TV stations now operating.

But health workers believe the problem needs more than just a media 
campaign to solve. "The government should impose a ban on the use of 
non-iodised salt or shopkeepers should be encouraged to introduce 
iodised salt to rural customers, many of whom do not have access to 
messages through the media," Hasinajan, a health worker at the MOPH told 
IRIN.

The costs of iodised salt are broadly comparable to non-iodised salt, 
UNICEF maintains.

The campaign also serves to help consumers recognise genuine iodised 
salt in the marketplace through the introduction of an official seal 
that identifies government-approved quality iodised salt.


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Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 
2005


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