China to use subsidies to eliminate last pockets of IDD |
| Posted by Administrator (admin) on [PUBL_DATE] |
China has achieved remarkable success in overcoming IDD through a massive program of salt iodization. Fully 94% of the population has access to iodized salt; but even 6% of the population unprotected against IDD means 600,000 infants annually are born at risk of mental retardation that can impose a 10-12 IQ-point penalty on each child. Pockets of IDD, particularly in northern and western China, including Tibet, will be attacked, according to a May 21 Xinhua report, by providing consumer subsidies for iodized salt, erasing the attractiveness of the lower selling price of locally-produced, non-iodized salt. Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region plans to spend 20 million yuan (2.6 million U.S. dollars) a year on subsidies.
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