Abstract
Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) Control Programme in Sudan adopted
salt iodization as the long-term strategy in 1994. In 2000, it was
found that less than 1% of households were using adequately-iodized
salt. The objectives of this study were to: (i) study the coverage and
variation of different geographical regions of Sudan regarding access
to and use of iodized salt, (ii) explore the possible factors which
influence the use of iodized salt, (iii) develop recommendations to
help in the implementation of the Universal Salt Iodization (USI)
strategy in Sudan. This paper is based on the Sudan Household Health
Survey (SHHS) dataset. A total sample of 24,507 households was
surveyed, and 18,786 cooking salt samples were tested for iodine levels
with rapid salt-testing kits. Nationally, the percentage of households
using adequately-iodized salt increased from less than 1% in 2000 to
14.4%, with wide variations between states. Access to iodized salt
ranged from 96.9% in Central Equatoria to 0.4% in Gezira state.
Population coverage with iodized salt in Sudan remains very low. The
awareness and political support for USI programme is very weak.
National legislation banning the sale of non-iodized salt does not
exist. Utilization of the already-existing laws, like the National
Standardization and Metrology Law (2008), to develop a compulsory
national salt specification, will accelerate the USI in Sudan.