Health experts addressed a seminar on the importance of iodised salt organised last week by the Maternal and Neonatal Child Healthcare (MNCH) programme, Fata Secretariat, at the Agency Headquarters Hospital in Khaar, Pakistan.

The seminar was attended by tribesmen, elders, political workers, media representatives, salt factory owners, traders and officials from local health department and representatives of the MNCH.

Senior public health nutritionist Dr Iftikhar Ahmed said the purpose of the seminar was to make people aware of the importance of iodized salt. He noted that iodine deficiency in the tribal areas, especially in the remote and hilly regions, was high compared to other parts of the country. Other speakers highlighted the importance of iodized salt among pregnant women for their and newborns’ better health. They urged the government to launch awareness campaigns about the importance of iodized salt in daily life and called upon the factory owners and traders to sell only iodized salt.