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December 16, 2006
A better deal for the global poor than reducing CO2 emissions
In the market for an inexpensive, guaranteed effective method of helping the global poor? The NY Times says add iodine to salt.
[P]utting iodine in salt, public health experts say, may be the simplest and most cost-effective health measure in the world. Each ton of salt needs about two ounces of potassium iodate, which costs about $1.15.Worldwide, about two billion people — a third of the globe — get too little iodine, including hundreds of millions in India and China. Studies show that iodine deficiency is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation. Even moderate deficiency, especially in pregnant women and infants, lowers intelligence by 10 to 15 I.Q. points, shaving incalculable potential off a nation’s development.
It seems that the whole world that is iodine deficient could have that need met for maybe a hundred million a year. As with most of these things, the iodine is the cheap part and upgrading salt processor equipment the slightly more expensive part.
Posted by OneEyedMan at December 16, 2006 7:36 AM
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