Iodine Global Network (IGN)

Iodine in the global news

28. September 2016

Pakistan: UK-funded fortification program targets women and children

By Lynda Searby, 27-Sep-2016 A £48m (€55m) five-year, large-scale fortification programme is being rolled out this month in Pakistan in a bid to combat malnutrition in women and children.

20. September 2016

Israel: Desalinated sea water linked to iodine deficiency

Hebrew University study suggests that desalination can dramatically increase the prevalence of inadequate iodine intake. "There is no doubt that desalination is a blessing. However, we need to be mindful of unintended consequences," says Dr. Aron ...

19. July 2016

#FutureFortified global recommendations released

The Government of Tanzania and GAIN hosted the #FutureFortified Global Summit on Food Fortification from 9 to 11 September 2015 in Arusha, Tanzania. As part of the Summit Technical Advisory Group, the Iodine Global Network helped to design the evidence...

18. July 2016

Micronutrient supplements are important for pregnant women

Prenatal multivitamins are an "unnecessary expense" according to a review published by BMJ earlier this week, which advised pregnant women to focus on supplementing with folic acid and vitamin D supplements while improving their overall diet. According ...

11. July 2016

Mozambique to fortify 5 foods, including salt

Mozambique published legislation on 18 April 2016 to fortify five food vehicles as part of its multi-sector plan to reduce chronic undernutrition. The mandate calls for fortification of wheat flour, corn meal, cooking oil, sugar, and salt. The law...

11. July 2016

Study in Ireland shows iodine status is improved by continued exposure to a seaweed-rich environment

The research published in the Irish Medical Journal says iodine intake, which is essential to brain development in children, is improved by continued exposure to a seaweed-rich environment. The two-decade study, led by Prof Peter Smyth of both...

29. June 2016

Australia: Mandatory double-fortification of bread brings significant health benefits

A new study has found the mandatory introduction of folic acid and iodine to bread has brought significant health benefits to Australians. The rates of spina bifida and other neural birth defects in Australian babies have declined since the introduction...

09. June 2016

Venkatesh Mannar honored by University of Toronto

Born into a fifth-generation salt producing family in India, Venkatesh Mannar has spent close to four decades working in developing countries around the world to help put an end to malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency. Humble table salt, as it...

31. May 2016

Iran highlights importance of iodine during pregnancy

A senior Iranian health official highlighted the adverse impacts of iodine deficiency on the development of the brain in children “which can be rectified through adequate intake of iodine in the daily diet”. Professor Fereidoun Azizi, director of...

17. May 2016

New Zealand study to examine links between iodine status and postnatal depression

After the birth of their baby most women see their health care professionals, with the focus often on the baby’s health. Yet 10 to 15 per cent of new mothers in New Zealand will suffer from postnatal depression. The mental health of the mother has been...

17. May 2016

School-children in New Zealand are iodine-sufficient

A new study aimed to determine the iodine status of New Zealand children when the fortification of bread was well established. A cross-sectional survey of children aged 8–10 years was conducted in the cities of Auckland and Christchurch, New Zealand, ...

06. May 2016

China announces reforms to salt monopoly

China’s government is chipping away at the country’s millennia-old salt monopoly, scrapping controls on the price and distribution of edible salt as part of the broader overhaul of the state sector. The State Council, or cabinet, announced Thursday...

03. May 2016

Taking a deeper look at micronutrient deficiencies

Though iodine was among the first nutrients recognized as vital to humans today, deficiency affects 780 million people worldwide. While other nutrients, like zinc, are derived from the parent materials of the soil (minerals and organic material...

29. April 2016

Iodine deficiency in the UK: grabbing the low-hanging fruit

In this era of global obesity and diabetes epidemics, simple solutions to public health problems seem almostinconceivable. And if such an easily solved issue were to arise, it might be expected that politicians and public health authorities would jump at...

12. April 2016

Low iodine status among mothers and children in Cambodia

A 2014 national assessment of salt iodization coverage in Cambodia found that 62% of samples were non-iodized, suggesting a significant decline in daily iodine intakes. The Cambodian Micronutrient Survey conducted in 2014 (CMNS-2014) permitted obtaining...

12. April 2016

Russia: Iodine deficiency prevention implemented in Almetyevsk kindergartens

The Almetyevsk (a region in the central Russian republic of Tatarstan) budget has allocated more than 543 thousand rubles in the first half and 1,131 thousand rubles in the second half of the year on iodine deficiency prevention at preschool educational...

29. March 2016

Seminar on "Iodine & Health" in Portugal

On 30 March 2016, the University of Porto in Portugal will host a seminar on “Iodine and Health”, organized by the Iogeneration project and featuring many national and international experts. The topics to be discussed by three panels will include iodine...

22. February 2016

India: Congenital hypothyroidism needs early detection

Congenital hypothyroidism is one of the most common, preventable causes of mental retardation. Worldwide, congenital hypothyroidism affects one in 3,800 newborn babies on an average. Studies from Mumbai indicate it might be more common in India, with the...

22. February 2016

Iodised bottled water factory opens in Ghana

The first iodised bottled water has been introduced onto the Ghanaian market by Well-being Natural Products Ghana Limited. Sky Water, as it is called, contains bio natural active iodine which fights a number of diseases that are associated with lack of...

22. February 2016

Thyroglobulin concentration effective for identifying iodine status

Among adults, thyroglobulin is a useful biomarker for identifying iodine status, according to study findings published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Researchers noted that a concomitant decrease in thyroglobulin concentration was...

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