A Simple Solution:
Iodine Deficiency in Vietnam

Case Study

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Have you ever eaten Vietnamese food? It's healthy and nourishing. People were surprised when Vietnamese in certain areas were found to have significant brain damage, mental retardation, learning difficulties and enlarged goitres. These problems are caused by iodine deficiency. Iodine deficiency is the single most significant preventable cause of brain damage and mental retardation in any country all over the world. Children born to mothers lacking iodine, especially during the formation of the foetus or in the neo-natal period after birth suffer severe, irreversible mental retardation.

Disorders resulting from iodine deficiency produce disabled individuals who depend on others for their care. This diverts community resources from economic production and social life. Agricultural animals also suffer from iodine deficiency in much the same way as people. The animals will have low birth weight, be smaller, produce less meat, eggs and wool. They will also have more problems in reproducing.

Iodine deficiency is one of the major health problems in Vietnam. Heavy rains on the mountains and slopes together with flooding in the deltas, have over many decades, leached almost all of the natural iodine from the soil and inland waterways.

Iodine deficiency can be avoided and minor problems such as lethargy and depression caused by hypothyroidism can be cured by the inclusion of sufficient iodine in the diet.

The Iodine Deficiency Control Project

An Iodine Deficiency Control Project was designed jointly by AusAID and the Vietnamese government to address the problems. The four year project, costing $5 million is due for completion in 1998. The Vietnamese hope to eradicate the problem by 2000.

Five pilot provinces were selected on the basis that each represents a different iodine deficiency situation in Vietnam. The solutions developed in these areas can then be implemented in other areas with similar problems. The pilot provinces are Yen Bai Province, Hanoi Province, Tien Giang Province, Thanh Province and Nam Ha Province (See map 2 - click here).

Adding iodine to salt has proven to be an effective approach. The salt is then used on food and in cooking to provide people with sufficient iodine in their diets. This sounds simple but is not as straightforward as you might think. The problem has to be addressed from many angles at the same time. The project team planned to provide:

• sufficient quantities of iodised salt for people to purchase at an affordable price
• a monitoring system to ensure a proper proportion of iodine is in the salt produced
• health promotion campaigns to inform people, especially mothers, of the need for iodine and how to include it in the family's diet
• a program to train all the people involved in implementing and maintaining the program
• support for companies which produce foods such as fish sauce or instant noodles to change the manufacturing process to include iodine.

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