The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has pledged further commitment to scale up the fight against circulation of non-iodized salt in Nigeria. Director General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii said this in Abuja while receiving the I-Check equipment for testing of iodine in salt, donated by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and Micronutrient Initiative (MI).

While pledging the commitment of the agency to strict monitoring of all distribution and retail outlets to ensure compliance with the Universal Salt Iodization (USI) standards, Dr. Orhii expressed appreciation to the Canadian government through MI and GAIN for their gesture and promised to show accountability in the use of the equipment.

The Country Manager of GAIN, Dr. Larry Umunna while making the donation in the company of his counterpart at MI, Dr. Oladipo Rauf, lamented the decline in the consumption of adequately iodized salt at household levels from 98% in 2005 to 52% in 2008, a situation he described as disturbing. Umunna noted that the figure rose slightly to about 75% in 2011 through the concerted efforts of NAFDAC and other partners, saying the goal of the current collaboration is to scale up the consumption of iodized salt to at least 85% at household level.