Iodine Global Network (IGN)

Iodine in the global news

12. July 2015

Philippines: public encouraged to buy iodized salt

The public should buy salt bearing the warning "Saktong Iodine sa Asin" and the DOH seal on the package, said Philippine Health Undersecretary Kenneth Hartigan-Go. His request comes one day after the DOH announcement that salt sold in the market is ...

10. July 2015

IGN mourns the loss of founding member Dr. John B. Stanbury

On July 6, 2015, the iodine community lost a pioneer in iodine research and a mentor to a generation of thyroid scientists, Dr. John B. Stanbury. Dr. Stanbury died peacefully in his sleep seven weeks after his 100th birthday in Westwood MA. He was...

06. July 2015

Second UNICEF-IGN workshop on iodine nutrition held in the MENA Region

A second regional workshop on sustainable prevention of iodine deficiency and achievement of optimal iodine nutrition and salt reduction was held on June 10-12 in Casablanca, Morocco. As previously, the workshop was organized by the IGN in collaboration...

18. June 2015

Lo iodio non sta nel sale: gli alimenti che lo contengono, i consigli e i falsi miti

La mancanza di iodio causa il gozzo, un ingrossamento della tiroide, e altri deficit intellettivi. È in corso la campagna estiva di prevenzione “Consigli per una tavola salutista” promossa dalla Siedp, la Società italiana di endocrinologia e diabetologia...

18. June 2015

Raising awareness of the importance of iodine in Tamil Nadu, India

About 2 million children in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu are prone to Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) and hence the personnel at the public distribution outlet should explain the importance of consuming iodized salt and sell it. This was the...

17. June 2015

Uzbekistan bans non-iodized salt

The amendments to the act "About prophylaxis of iodine deficiency diseases", according to which there is fully stopped production and banned sale of non-iodized dietary salt in the country came into force. The Law previously also has been foreseeing...

15. June 2015

India: Research needed to confirm if iodine bindis are effective

An initiative called 'Life Saving Dot' is trying use bindis, small dots worn by women between their eyebrows, to deliver an essential micronutrient to women who might not be getting enough. That's the idea behind a new campaign from the Neelvasant...

15. June 2015

Food for thought: poor nutrition and educational inequality in Thailand

Evidence of inequality in Thailand’s school system made the headlines in recent weeks after separate reports by the Public Ministry of Health and the World Bank. The report from Thailand’s Public Ministry of Health revealed that the average IQ of Grade 1...

12. June 2015

Half of pregnant women in Australia may be iodine deficient

In the not so distant past babies born to mothers with low thyroid function which could be due to low levels of iodine had terrible birth defects. It's the defect officially known as cretinism. While for most of us it's is just a nasty word we use to...

11. June 2015

Improving iodine nutrition: a job for a global partnership

By Jonathan Gorstein and Greg S. Garrett The Life You Can Save and GiveWell recently highlighted the critical importance of iodine nutrition by recommending not one but two non-profit organizations working on iodine interventions: the Global Alliance...

08. June 2015

Iodine bindis: Science or swindle?

Can you imagine an idea by a Singapore-based advertising agency and the research and development by an NGO in India to make a bindi coated with iodine that claims to be able to save countless Indian lives? Though it has received a lot of publicity,...

02. June 2015

Sustainable elimination of IDD in Latin America

A report has been published of the sub-regional workshops conducted in Latin America to evaluate the current IDD situation of the countries in the Region. The workshops were organized jointly by UNICEF and the Iodine Global Network, and their...

28. May 2015

Pregnant women in UK lack guidance on iodine intake levels

Pregnant women are not getting enough information about the need to include iodine in their diets, despite high awareness of general advice for pregnancy nutrition. While 96% of pregnant women surveyed by researchers were aware of general nutritional...

27. May 2015

Overactive thyroid: causes, symptoms and treatments

Thyroid disorders affect one in twenty people in the UK. Despite them being so common, there are still many who are unaware of what actually causes them and, most importantly, what the symptoms are. So, to coincide with Thyroid Awareness Week, we've...

27. May 2015

EFSA: Opinion on perchlorate in fruit and vegetables

EFSA has re-published its scientific opinion on the risks to public health from perchlorate in food, particularly in fruit and vegetables. Adopted in September 2014, the opinion has been revised because of a technical error. EFSA’s experts have re...

21. May 2015

Taiwan is only mildly iodine deficient

According to media reports, the Taiwanese Health Promotion Administration (HPA) has published the results of a nutritional survey assessing the country's iodine status. According to Taipei News, "the research (...) analyzed the urine of 1,185 individuals...

20. May 2015

Eliminating hypothyroidism caused by iodine deficiency

One of the words we don’t use anymore is cretin; it’s long been a derogatory slur rather than a precise description of something. But a century ago cretinism actually meant a specific thing: a person, generally a child, who was severely damaged by a lack...

20. May 2015

Indian state of Odisha to test iodine levels in retail and household salt

In order to reduce increasing cases of Iodine Deficiency Disorder in the state, the Public Health department of Odisha is set to start a campaign to check the quantity of iodine in iodized salt. Starting from retail and wholesale stores, the health...

19. May 2015

China celebrates 22nd IDD Prevention Day

On Friday, 15 May, China celebrated its 22nd National IDD Prevention Day. The aims of the IDD Day are to increase the knowledge of the population about the adverse effects of IDD and to promote population health. The theme this year was: “Providing ...

16. May 2015

Non-iodized salt to be banned in Nigeria

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, (NAFDAC) has raised alarm over the level of micronutrient deficiency among Nigerian children between the ages of one and five. Benue State Coordinator of NAFDAC, Mr. Anikoh Ibrahim,...

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