Ethiopian iodine efforts devastated by war |
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Until its 1998-2000 war with seceeding Eritrea, Ethiopia relied on saltworks there and at least had hope of overcoming its widespread iodine deficiency. No more. Denied Eritrean salt, fully 80% of Ethiopia's population suffers from IDD as explained in this sad report. Dr. Iqbal Kabir, head of UNICEF's Nutrition and Food Security section in Ethiopia, said only 4 percent of Ethiopia's 77 million people consume iodized salt _ among the lowest percentages in the world. In Ethiopia, Kabir said, If this problem continues, a generation will suffer.
"I have never seen any other country like this," said Kabir, who has worked in the nutrition field since 1983, and in that time has worked in three or four countries that used to have iodine deficiency problems, including Bangladesh and Tanzania. Both have since improved their lot.
Most countries protect against iodine deficiency, simply by adding iodine to salt at a cost of about 4 US cents; 2 euro cents per kilogram (2 US cents;one euro cent per pound).
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