WEST AFRICA CONSULTATON
ON UNIVERSAL SALT IODISATION

Dakar; October 19-21, 2004

ACCELERATING PROGRESS TOWARDS
UNIVERSAL SALT IODISATION IN WEST AFRICA
Ensuring political commitment, fostering partnerships, reaching the goal

A CRITICAL TIME
Organized by the Network for the Sustainable Elimination of Iodine Deficiency Disorders
and under the auspices of ECOWAS and WAHO

CONSENSUS STATEMENT

A Regional Consultation held in Dakar, Senegal, on October 19-21, 2004 with the participation of country delegations from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.   Country delegations included both private and public sector.   Representatives of international agencies and organizations also attended (EU Salt, HKI, ICCIDD, The MI, ASDEC, UEMOA, UNICEF, WAHO/ECOWAS, WFP, WHO).
The following consensus was endorsed by the country delegates:

Whereas

•  Iodine deficiency in West Africa is the main cause of brain damage, loss of learning ability and preventable mental retardation affecting millions of children

•  In 1994, ECOWAS Member States had agreed to take every necessary step, including mandatory legislation, to ensure that by the end of 1995, all salt for human and animal consumption would be adequately iodized as a means to eliminate iodine deficiency by the year 2000

•  In 2002, ECOWAS Member States further committed at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session for Children to achieve the goal of sustained elimination of iodine deficiency by the year 2005 through universal salt iodisation.

•  ECOWAS Member States have also endorsed the Development Goals of the Millennium Declaration that include among others the reduction of poverty, hunger and malnutrition by 50%, the reduction of child mortality by two thirds, and the achievement of universal primary education between the period 1990-2015

•  Ensuring adequate nutrition is a basic human right

•  ECOWAS Member States have so far secured access to iodised salt to 70% of households in the region.

•  Constraints remain as revealed by the fact that only 40% of the West Africa population has adequate iodine intake and access to iodised salt ranges from 2 to 98% both within and between countries.

A regional Consultation was called to identify ways to accelerate progress towards USI in West Africa by 2005 and to sustain that level thereafter.  

As a result of the discussions, the following recommendations were endorsed for immediate action:

1) Securing political commitment at the national and sub-national levels

• All countries in West Africa should respect the political commitment to USI already made

• High-level advocacy is needed to make USI a national priority. This should be linked to other national priorities such as poverty reduction, child survival, and universal primary education

• A clear policy framework that includes comprehensive legislation should be established and enforced

• The roles and accountabilities of the key government sectors should be clearly articulated

• Governments should create/maintain a budget line earmarked for a comprehensive USI program both at national and sub-national levels

2) Ensuring salt iodization in time of conflicts or emergency (including natural disasters and epidemics)

• Governments should ensure that national policy framework includes adequate iodine nutrition in the emergency preparedness plan. These policies should be integrated within a comprehensive national plan to address USI

• Governments, relief organizations and donors should ensure that all relief supply for humanitarian response systematically includes adequately iodized salt

3) E nsuring that all salt produced in the Region is effectively iodized.

•  Salt producers and traders have to develop and adhere to a comprehensive industry code of conduct to ensure USI

•  Small producers have to be supported by public and private sectors to iodize adequately through different mechanisms

•  All salt producing countries have to ensure a sustainable procurement arrangement for potassium iodate

•  The ECOWAS framework, which includes UEMOA countries,   should be used to harmonize regional standards and guidelines

•  Tariff barriers that impede cross-border trade in iodized salt should be removed

4) Monitoring quality of iodised salt and ensuring adequate iodine nutrition

•  Governments should ensure that   national level legislation on salt iodization is in place and includes quality control measures

•  Governments should give USI a high priority and allocate adequate resources for timely monitoring and feedback

•  Governments should strengthen enforcement at production and importation points as a national responsibility

•  Industries should have adequate internal quality assurance systems for iodised salt

•  Monitoring and assessments of national USI program should be a national responsibility with regional and international support

•  A representative evaluation should be conducted in several countries by early 2006

5) Social mobilization and community participation

• Stakeholders at all levels should be involved in the communication strategy as they all have a role to play (advocacy, demand creation, surveillance, etc.)

• The media, religious and traditional leaders, consumers groups, professional bodies, school teachers and school children should be utilized into the social mobilization and community partnership effort

• Consumer demand for adequately iodised salt should be created to ensure sustainability

• Consumers should be targeted with specific and clear messages that emphasize the positive effect of consuming iodized salt in mental development using appropriate communication channels (such as radio, TV, prints, and community level materials)

• Existing advocacy tools such as the Vitamin & Mineral Deficiency Progress Report, country damage assessment reports, etc. should be used to prioritize USI on policy makers' agenda

6) Building national and regional coalitions

• It is recommended that an active national multi-sectoral task force with a permanent secretariat, built on mutual trust and confidence among stakeholders, meet regularly to coordinate efforts towards USI

• All producing countries must adequately iodise salt produced in their country with pre-shipment certification and entry port authentication

• Salt producers should organize themselves as associations to effectively coordinate the USI efforts

• There should be a demand for accountability of decision makers to ensure USI

• An effective regional mechanism/body of member states should strongly advocate for USI at the political level, assist in harmonization standards, take away trade barriers, build capacity and monitor programs

• ECOWAS should coordinate a partnership across WAHO, UEMOA, and West African Chambers of Commerce that could be initiated by WAHO; regional partnerships like NEPAD should be used for high-level advocacy and mobilization of resources

• International Agencies should help to build national and regional capacities, continuing advocacy at the highest political level, capacity building of national and regional bodies Liberia and Cap Verde regretted their inability to attend the Consultation but reinforced their commitment to the USI goal EU Salt, Helen Keller International, International Council for the Control Of Iodine Deficiency Disorders, The Micronutrient Initiative, l'Association Sénégalaise pour la Défense de l'Environnement et des Consommateurs (member of Consumers International), Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest-Africaine, UNICEF, West African Health Organization/Economic Community of West African States, World Food Program and World Health Organization.