Bangladesh has questioned the chances of making strides in its growth targets, facing steep obstacles, including regular natural disasters, poverty rates, and the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic year, with 5.1 percent GDP growth in 2020, the fastest growth rate in South Asia, it bucked the global recession. In reducing child mortality rates and rising life expectancy, the nation has also made considerable progress.
Today, with the 'Iodised Salt Bill' now in front of parliament, Bangladesh is taking another step towards enhancing national health results. This is not about a piece of legislation; it's a true human development pledge.
Iodine is an important micronutrient, especially vital during the development of the foetus and in the first few years of the life of an infant. Iodine deficiency, goitre and even death will lead to permanent neurological failure and impairment. About 16.2 million babies are born annually without enough iodine in developed countries, and almost one billion people worldwide are at risk of iodine deficiency.
In recent decades, salt iodination has been one of the most effective public health programs in the world and remains the most reliable method to tackle iodine deficiency. It is also one of the most cost-effective initiatives, costing per capita per year less than US$ 0.05.As of 2020, 108 out of 139 countries with low and middle incomes have universal salt iodization regulations.
In reducing once-epidemic levels of goiter and thyroid disease, Bangladesh has done a remarkable job. In the mid-1990s, Goitre impacted 47% of the population. That number today is well below 6 percent. However, only 57.6 percent of households use iodized salt sufficiently, which means that approximately 68 million households use iodized salt inadequately, leaving them vulnerable to iodine deficiency disorders.
The new legislation aims at filling this void and improving the supply of properly iodized salt. When passed, the 'Iodised Salt Law' mandates that all edible salts be iodized at 30-50 parts per million, including salt used by animals and the manufacture of refined food products for human consumption. It provides specific and uniform guidelines for the manufacturing, storage, importation and marketing of salts and mandates the registration of producers and importers of salts. The new legislation also raises fines for breaches.
The new project director of the Management of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (CIDD) project, Akhil Ranjan Tarafdar, is optimistic that the new lEgislation would increase the coverage of sufficiently iodized salt to 100% . The CIDD initiative has been instrumental in the country's decline in iodine deficiency. For the past 15 years, Nutrition International has been working to boost salt iodization in Bangladesh with the government, salt producers and people. Nutrition International is proud to have contributed to national salt iodination efforts by providing technical assistance to salt processors and the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Company (BSCIC), improving labs, promoting the management of iodization plants, implementing new technologies and training CIDD project officials. This bill is the culmination of a long-standing relationship between Nutrition International and the Bangladesh government.
Nutrition International is a proponent of systematic salt iodization and has been at the forefront of cost-effective, scalable nutrition initiatives internationally. Nutrition International has funded universal salt iodination campaigns, as well as supplementation with vitamin A, fortification of rice, programs to change behavior and increase the availability of nutritious foods in Bangladesh. Nutrition International supports mothers, girls and children with tailored interventions-and partners with them-to ensure they get the nutrition they need to succeed.
The 'Iodised Salt Act' would lead to increasing access to an essential micronutrient and enhancing the population's health. And this is a big move forward for the country's children to ensure that they can truly thrive and develop correctly, giving them a greater opportunity to live a safe, happier life and achieve their full potential.
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