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China has way to go to eradicate iodine deficiency

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 May 2006, 00:08 CDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - China still has a way to go to eradicate iodine deficiency because of difficulties in fortifying salt in some remote regions, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

Lack of iodine causes neck goiters and mental retardation and more than 700 million Chinese live in iodine-deficient regions.

But over the past 50 years, a protracted government effort has meant more than 90 percent of the population has access to iodized salt, said ministry spokesman Mao Qun'an.

"Although on a national level we have eradicated iodine deficiency, at the provincial and county level there is still a large gap," Mao told a news conference.

The worst affected provinces and regions included Tibet, Xinjiang, Qinghai and Gansu in the county's remote west, as well as the island of Hainan, he said.

"In some areas, especially in the west, measures to fortify salt with iodine have not been perfected," Mao added.

The Chinese government launched an iodine deficiency program in 1993 to eliminate the problem by 2000. That plan has now been extended to 2010.

Around 100 million Chinese people suffer from lack of iodine, according to state media.

But in some iodine-deficient areas, people prefer using raw, unfortified salt, which is making the fight harder and so education needs to be stepped up, state media has said.

Source: REUTERS

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