IDD update: Burkina Faso

Land-locked Burkina Faso, in West Africa, is a nation in which iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) have maintained a grip. As stated in a report by UNICEF, the prevalence of goiter in Burkina Faso is 23 percent, and the most affected populations are children six months to 10 years old and women ages 26-39. Three percent of babies from mothers affected by iodine deficiency are born with cretinism, 10 percent suffer severe mental retardation, and 87 percent of children affected by IDD have intellectual deficiency.

In 2001, Burkina Faso committed to universal salt iodization as a means of virtually eliminating IDD in that nation. A UNICEF strategy and a US$270,000 Kiwanis International Foundation grant have set the stage for success.

A challenge in Burkina Faso’s pursuit of a nation’s iodized salt program is that the nation imports 100 percent of its salt, mostly from Ghana and Senegal. Neither local salt production nor a salt industry exists in Burkina Faso.

Kiwanis funds helped the nation put in motion its plans to achieve the following:

• 100 percent of imported salt to meet acceptable iodization requirements.
• Increase to at least 90 percent the households consuming adequately iodized salt (according to a 2003 report, while 84 percent of households used iodized salt, only 48 percent used adequately iodized salt).
• Ensure the availability of iodized salt that complies with the norms in place in Burkina Faso.
• Improve the reliability of the salt control system in Burkina Faso.
• Mobilize salt importers, and strengthen public and private cooperation.
• Strengthen a multisectoral coordination and cooperation mechanism within different government sectors with the private sector and civil society.
• Raise public awareness of the negative consequences of iodine deficiency and create sustainable demand for iodized salt.
• Reinforce the monitoring and legislation framework.
• To reach these goals, UNICEF implemented a host of strategies:

Integrated communications plan activities, including social mobilization through meetings with community radio stations, salt importers, consumer organizations, and catering associations. Forum theater sessions in six provinces and the production and broadcast of documentaries in national languages, radio and television shows, and radio advertisements encouraged behavioral change and better informed choices.

• Monitoring and evaluating communication activities through field trips, which include salt testing within households.
• Stepping up quality control of salt, using salt test kits during monitoring field trips, in border-crossing areas, and in stores that sell salt within Burkina Faso.

“While IDD remains a public health issue in Burkina Faso (the strategies implemented from the Kiwanis International Foundation grant) have laid the foundation for future gains,” says Meg Gardinier, UNICEF’s managing director of education and community partnerships.