NEW DELHI: Just about 1 in 3 people consume iodised salt in Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. While just less than half in Andhra Pradesh gets iodised salt, the number stands at just over half in Rajasthan, 60% in Orissa and 64% in Uttarakhand.
A report -- 'Iodized Salt Coverage Study 2010' -- conducted in rural households across eight states found that while use of adequately iodised salt had increased by 20% since the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) III conducted in 2005-06, the overall use in these states had reached just 47.3%.
When compared to the last such study which showed 27% use of iodised salt, the latest figure is a major jump.
But when it comes to India's overall target to reach 100% coverage of iodised salt in the country by 2012, 47.3% would mean not even half the people living in rural areas have access to iodised salt – one of the cheapest food items.
States like Uttarakhand, Orissa, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh have seen a two-fold increase in the use of adequately iodised salt.
According to NFHS III, Uttarakhand's iodised salt usage stood at 32.8% which has risen to 64%, Orissa's stood at 32.4% which has increased to 59%, Rajasthan's stood at 29.2% which is now 50.2% and Andhra Pradesh's present figures are 46.9% which in NFHS III was 20.3%.
On the other hand, states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have shown relatively lower progress.
According to NFHS III, UP's iodised salt usage stood at 27% which has risen to 35.4%, MP's stood at 25.5% which has increased to 44.8%, TN's stood at 30.6% which is now 41.9% and Karnataka's present figures are 35.4% which in NFHS III was 27.6%.
According to Dr C S Pandav, head of community medicine at AIIMS, the study was conducted in 9,600 households. "The two factors which contributed to this increase in iodised salt use are that production of iodised salt is now 57 lakh tonnes compared to 2 lakh tonnes in 1986 and more than 50% of iodised salt is now refined."
S Sundaresan, India's salt commissioner, said, "In states which are still low on using enough iodised salt, one major factor is that uniodised salt is still being sold by local producers. India's iodine deficiency programme has had a bumpy rise. Suddenly in 2001, government withdrew the order of compulsory iodisation of salt which was brought back in May 2005. Northeastern states have access to 90% of iodised salt in India."
The study was conducted jointly by Micronutrient Initiative (MI), an international not-for-profit organisation, under the guidance of the salt commissioner's office and the Indian Coalition for Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders (ICCIDD).
Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD) is the leading cause of mental retardation worldwide. It is a significant public health problem; every year 13 million children are born in India unprotected from brain damage caused by iodine deficiency. It is estimated that 200 million population people in India are exposed to the risk of IDD and more than 71 million suffer from goiter and other forms of IDD.
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