Iodine Deficiency Disease in Nepal

For over ten years Rotarian David Brodie from this club and Nirmal Baral from the Dharan Ghopoa Club in Nepal have been working together with other members of their clubs to reduce the incidence of iodine deficiency disease (IDD) in Nepal.

A Rotary Foundation Global Grant was awarded in late 2013 for the continuation and development of the project. 10,000 USD raised by Jordans and District Club was matched by District 1090 and the Rotary Foundation World Fund. The 35,00 USD project and reporting was recently completed. The funding was used to buy educational materials and books, iodised salt, computing equipment and to cover costs such as laboratory analysis, plus travel and accomodation for the Nepal-based team members and for experts for evaluation and training. The project delivered both iodised salt for children and eduaction of children, teachers and community leaders.

IDD is considered by the World Health Organisation as the most prevalent, preventable mental disease. It is caused by insufficient iodine in the soil meaning that iodine fails to get into the food chain. The outcome, apart from  mental retardation, is goitre ( a swelling of the neck resulting from enlargement of the thyroid gland), premature births, stillbirths and cretinism (congenital iodine deficiency syndrome). Prevention is based on including iodine in common salt and all the earlier work was to explore this approach. For many years Nirmal and David travelled to remote parts of Nepal with their team to establish the incidence of IDD in school children and to supply iodised salt In one landmark study it was found a 30% incidence of the disease, but by using iodised salt over just six months, the diseased was reduced to zero.

Rotarian David Brodie