Even where expectant mothers are receiving enough iodine, weaning infants may not get enough, according to Dr. Michael Zimmermann, ICCIDD deputy regional coordinator for Western and Central Europe and editor of the new, November IDD Newsletter in which the study is reported.

Other articles discuss progress in Central Asia, the Philippines, New Zealand, the Eastern Mediterranean, China and Italy.

In Central Asia, the Asian Development Bank has launched an aggressive regional food fortification initiative focused on iodine and iron. In the Philippines, the key to progress has been improved advocacy and a revitalized partnership with the salt industry. In the Eastern Mediterranean, ICCIDD regional coordinator Izzeldin Hussein was part of the consultative process that developed a new EMRO regional strategy on nutrition. In China, as a byproduct to dramatic success in raising iodine intakes over the past decade, attention now is being paid to areas which over-shot the target and now risk excess iodine.

The Newsletter also reported that ICCIDD board member Venkatesh Mannar, president of the Micronutrient Initiative, has been names a Laureate of the Tech Awards 2010 for his leadership in developing a process to double fortify salt with iodine and iron.