Salt production, 21 st -century style

Laws alone cannot eliminate iodine deficiency disorders (IDD). Enforcement, education, and equipment are required, and as the nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) discovered, it helps to have Kiwanis support.

A 1953 law significantly reduced incidences of IDD in the Srebrenica, Bratunac, and Podrinje regions, but compulsory salt iodization did not eliminate IDD in the Eastern European nation. Between 1992 and 1996, war closed and bady damaged the country’s only salt-producing factory. As a result, research conducted in 1998 and 1998 discovered rising goiter rates among children ages seven to 14.

A US$474,009 Kiwanis International Foundation contribution helped reopen the Tuzla Salt Factory with improved quality control and efficiency. According to a United States fund for UNICEF report, the factory’s director repeatedly expresses his appreciation for Kiwanis and UNICEF assistance. Three packing machines and new laboratory equipment, the director says, “brought the antiquated and dilapidated factory into the 21st century.”

UNICEF also reports that Kiwanis funds supported public awareness campaigns. One promotion targets new families by introducing nutritional lessons in the nation’s Schools for Future Parents and through the World Health Organization/UNICEF Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative.

The marketing campaigns use a variety of communication channels, including painting the exterior of a Sarajevo tram. The mural, which features the Kiwanis logo, promotes the use of iodized salt to prevent mental disabilities and recommends using salt at the end of the cooking process.

BIH continues to build on its success. More than 450 health professionals attended training sessions to become more familiar with IDD, and more than two dozen sanitary inspectors are trained and equipped to monitor the quality of imported and domestically produced salt.

“On behalf of the UNICEF family and the children that we serve, we wish to thank you for the generous grants from the Kiwanis International family, which are helping to support the IDD control program and giving children a smart start in life,” wrote Meg Gardinier, UNICEF’s managing director of education and community partnerships in a letter accompanying the BiH report.