The Hindu : National : “Only 51 per cent consume iodised salt in India”

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Sunday, Mar 30, 2008
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“Only 51 per cent consume iodised salt in India”

Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR: Even as the target of having 52 lakh metric tons of iodised salt in India has been achieved, 49 per cent of the salt being consumed by the people is unaccounted for.

This was disclosed by B. K. Tiwari, Adviser for the National Iodine Deficiency Disorder Control Programme (NIDCCP), participating in a seminar here organised by the Directorate of Health, Kashmir. He said only 51 per cent of the salt intake among the people in country was accounted for.

“Though we have achieved much in this direction, a lot more needs to be done,” he said.Dr. Tiwari said India had the capacity of producing 11 million metric tones of salt and Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan were the main States where salt was produced.

Availability

He argued that in areas where people had no access to iodised salt, its availability should be ensured through the Public Distribution System at subsidised rates.

Salt Commissioner of India S. Sundaresan said 342 districts in India had been surveyed so far. But he sounded optimistic on private-public partnership for distributing salt to the people. “It has been the most successful model,” he added.

Mr. Sundaresan said iodine deficiency was still a threat in the country. Lack of public awareness was one of the reasons for this. “No state is free from this problem,” he said, adding, “but there is a lot of improvement”.

He said Jammu and Kashmir was still better placed as only 26 per cent salt consumption was unaccounted for.

Director Health Services Muzaffar Ahmad said the State Government was taking all the steps to arrest this trend. “The National Rural Health Mission is a major vehicle in this regard” he said.

S. K. Institute of Medical Science director Abdul Hamid Zargar presented a grim picture vis-a-vis iodine deficiency.

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