Hundreds of Indian students facing ‘deportation’ from Canada stage protest
* All districts to be covered under national iodine deficiency disorders control programme
Chandigarh,The Punjab government has launched a massive campaign to identify iodine deficient children under National Iodine Deficiency Disorders Control Programme (NIDDCP) and established Iodine Deficiency Disorder Cell (IDD) and IDD laboratories in Punjab in order to check Iodine deficiency in children and also in expectant mothers.
Disclosing this here today, Health and Family Welfare Minister Punjab Mr. Surjeet Kumar Jayani said that all the districts would be covered under NIDDCP in a phased manner. Total 17 districts were surveyed under the ongoing programme. During 2013-14, IDD survey in 4 districts namely Mansa, Barnala, Moga and Ferozepur including Fazilka had been conducted.
Extensive laboratory tests were being conducted on children as well as pregnant women to diagnose iodine deficiency in children. The Minister also said that as many as 12219 urine samples of the children between the age group of 6-12 years were collected by state health authorities and 19815 salt samples were also tested by the state IDD labs in Punjab. The results of the urine samples have been sent to the districts and recommended further treatment where iodine deficiency was diagnosed in children.
Mr. Jayani has also asked all the food inspectors to strictly check the sale of non-iodized edible salt that is already banned by the union government. He has directed them to focus their campaign to rural; as well as urban areas including slums, hutment areas and areas where migrant and gypsy population were residing.
Directing the Civil Surgeons to organize sensitization camps in colonies to educate the people regarding the importance of iodine, Mr. Jayani also asked to distribute literature regarding this to the expectant mothers. They were also told to involve AMNs and Health Visitors in this educative campaign.
The Minister further said that Iodine was an essential micro nutrient which was required for normal human growth and development. He said that the target group was the children between the age group of 6-12 years. Besides this the expectant mothers would also be tested for iodine deficiency during as it often led to decreased availability of iodine to the fetus. The deficiency could be fatal and lead to permanent damage to intellectual growth in later years, said Mr. Jayani.
Mr. Jayani also said that the daily use of iodized salt could prevent mental and physical retardation, cretinism (congenital condition caused by a deficiency of thyroid hormone), still births and brain damage. He said it helped children live healthy and productive lives.
The Minister asked the district health officers to constantly monitor the tests being conducted in the hi-tech established laboratories and share the investigations with the officers concerned so that adequate steps be taken at higher level to check the iodine deficiency and further treatment could be initiated.
