Venkatesh Mannar, president of the Micronutrient Initiative and long-standing ICCIDD director, has been appointed to the Order of Canada, one of Canada's highest civilian honors, recognizing his lifetime achievements and service to Canada and humanity at large. Congratulations!

"Mannar started his journey to saving and improving lives when he became interested in salt iodization; iodine is essential for brain development. As a sixth-generation salt processor in India, he became fascinated with the opportunities to end iodine deficiency disorders, the leading cause of preventable brain damage, by using salt as a vehicle for iodine. He left his family business to become a consultant for international agencies such as UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization in the area of salt iodization. He helped establish salt iodization in more than 50 countries, making a huge contribution to what is largely considered to be one of the most successful public health campaigns of the 20th century. Today nearly 4 billion people have access to iodized salt."