CASE STUDY: Decreasing Iodine Deficiency Disease in China

Background on Nutrition and Global Health Nutritional status is a major determinant of health status and has an important influence on people's productivity and capacity to learn. In terms of global health, critical nutritional concerns include whether or not people get enough of the right foods and the extent to which the population receives a sufficient intake of vitamins and minerals.

China In the late 1990s, about four hundred million people in China were at risk of iodine deficiency disorders, making up 40% of the global estimate. In 1993, the Chinese government launched the National Iodine Deficiency Disorders Elimination Program, with funding and technical assistance from the Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control Project. Steps the Chinese government took: 1. They launched a nationwide public education campaign using posters, newspapers, television, billboards, etc. Their objective was to persuade citizens to use iodized salt. 2. Provincial governments related the message to remote villages. 3. Salt iodation factories were enhanced and new ones were built. Packaging was designed to help consumers identify the type of salt. Quality was carefully monitored in production, distribution, and sales. 4. They banned the sale of non-iodized salt, while salt producers were transitioned into iodation methods. As a result of these measures, along with the rigid national control of the economy, China's iodine deficiency lowered dramatically. Goiter, an iron deficiency disorder, fell from 20.4% to 8.8% for children ages 8-10. The World Bank deemed the $512 million investment as cost-effective. Case Study paper: http://www.cgdev.org/page/case-15-preventing-iodine-deficiency-disease-china