Iodine Deficiency - issue in Armenia

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS: Armenia is considered among the endemic regions from the viewpoint of iodine deficiency; that is why the disorders as a result of iodine deficiency are an issue in RA public health. For fighting and prevention of deceases conditioned by iodine deficiency the Armenian Healthcare Ministry has carried out considerable works in collaboration with UN Children’s Fund and World Health Organization.

Margarita Babayan, head of Food Safety Division, State Hygienic and Anti-Epidemiological Inspectorate of the RA Ministry of Health, told Armenpress that iodine deficiency in the organism can result in serious disorders, for example, in goiter (so-called endemic goiter), and cretinism, which results in developmental delays and other health problems.

The Armenian government, attaching importance to the issue of iodine deficiency, confirmed in 2004 the National Program on Fighting and Prevention of Iodine Deficiency in the Food of RA Population, by which the food salt in Armenia has been enriched with iodine. The measures for purpose of prevention of diseases as a result of iodine deficiency in Armenia are of continuous nature.