UNITED NATIONS: Iodized salt now reaches 70 percent of world households - up from less than 20 percent in the early 1990s - helping prevent iodine deficiencies that lead to fetal brain damage, experts said Wednesday. The Network for Sustained Elimination of Iodine Deficiency, with members such as the UN World Health Organization and Unicef, marked this public health advance, but also warned that accelerated action needs to be taken by governments in 36 countries where fewer than half of households consume iodized salt. Although Egypt is ranked among countries in which the Network managed to raise the usage of the product, there's more to be done. ''Poverty and associated health, nutrition and social factors prevent at least 200 million children in developing countries from attaining their development potential,'' Alan Court, chair of the Network, said in a statement. Iodine deficiency during pregnancy and early childhood can result in permanent brain damage, with a reduction in IQ points, according to the statement. In adult life, iodine deficiency can result in loss of hearing, fine motor skills and attentive functions. ''If we cannot achieve salt iodization, it is much harder to achieve all of the other Millennium Development Goals, so let us make it a test case that is achievable within the next two to three years,'' said Kul Gautam, deputy executive director of Unicef, the UN children's agency. Gerard Burrow, chairman of the International Council for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders in Connecticut, said governments need to mandate universal salt iodization and public advocacy needs to be increased to convince people salt iodization is important for their children. ''Iodized salt now reaches 70 percent of world households, up from less than 20 percent in the early 1990s,'' the Network statement said. The Network reported that because of successful production and marketing of iodized salt, an additional 84 million births are now protected from the danger of significant brain damage due to iodine deficiency disorders. The Network said its top priority is to ensure access to iodized salt for the final 30 percent of households that do not have it, most of them found in just 20 countries: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Bolivia, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Niger, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Senegal, Sudan, Ukraine, and Vietnam. Associated Press
