Coverage rate of iodized salt in Tibet jumps to over 98%

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of Tibet Autonomous Region, in recent years, Tibet has rapidly improved the monitoring system for the local prevention and cure of endemic diseases, thereby the coverage rate of iodized salt has been leveled out from 19 percent in 1997 to 98.7 percent so far.

Furthermore, the iodine deficiency disorder (IDD) disease in the remote farming and pastoral areas has basically been eliminated.

As a region that frequently sees occurrence of the IDD disease and other serious diseases, Tibet is conditioned for this by the natural environment and historical factors, therein it is relatively common to see the IDD disease in the remote farming and pastoral areas. Since 2008, Tibet has urged efforts to popularize iodized salt throughout the region.

Guo Min, deputy director from a local center for disease control, said that in recent years, the hygiene departments have promoted a synthesized prevention and curing policy that places "priority on iodine when eating salt, along with supplementary iodized oil capsule ingestion" from all different levels.

At the same time, all levels within hygiene departments have also enlarged the salt industry distribution and sale service which so far has covered all the farming and pastoral areas within Tibet.

In order to popularize knowledge about the IDD disease, the government has employed the concept of “linking school – family - community”, thereby guaranteeing the prevention of and providing knowledge for cures to every family. Gou Min said, up until now, the three indexes of iodized salt coverage rate, the children TGR (total goiter rate) and children median of urinary iodine intake in Tibet have already increased to the national standard which is needed to consider the IDD disease to be eliminated.

Recently, Tibet has gradually urged efforts in making financial subsidies to influence the price of iodized salt, expending 30 million yuan in public funds every year, thus, iodized salt sale price in the farming and pastoral areas has decreased from 1.5 yuan to 0.5 yuan. This has solved the problem of high costs rooted in the salt distribution process.

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