Speech by Dr. Christian Voumard, UNICEF Representative
On the Occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the
Initiative for Sustainable Elimination of IDD in China
16 November 2006

Honourable Minister Gao Qiang, Distinguished Guests from Ministry of Finance and NDRC, Distinguished members from the IDD Alliance Organisations, All Provincial Governors, Members from Media, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very delighted to join you at this important event and wish first to express UNICEF’s great appreciation to Madame Wu Yi for her strong support to this Initiative and thank the provinces for their informative reports.  Today we have a unique opportunity to assess what we have achieved, what improvements were made during this period and what actions we still must take to secure the right of every child to be protected from brain damage, stunted growth and other effects of iodine deficiency.

By 1999 China achieved 90 percent household access to iodised salt. Subsequently, considering China’s huge population size, it became necessary to analyse coverage at provincial, prefecture and county levels. In addition it was critical to ensure that salt was iodised at levels recommended for adequate iodine nutrition. According to results of the 2002 National IDD Survey, all but 7 provinces had achieved 90% coverage of iodised salt. This success story has been widely disseminated by UNICEF in the Asia region and at global level and, at this point I would like to praise the national leaders, all members of the IDD Alliance, local government leaders and officials who contributed to this success in such a large and diverse country like China.

At the same time, it was recognized there was still much work to be done in the provinces, prefectures and counties that did not achieve 90% coverage, as usual the last mile is always difficult to cover. Most of the remaining work involved situations with multiple natural salt resources, poor minority populations, difficult terrain and distant communities. I am pleased to see that 2005 National IDD Survey showed significant progress in four of the seven provinces with three of them in fact achieving coverage above 90%. This is very remarkable and shows that where there is a will, there is a way.

Unfortunately there is not still enough progress in three provinces, and this is where we have learnt that some children are still born with severe forms of IDD. This is a call for action to all of us and I will come back later on some proposals to address this issue.

Before that, drawing from the experiences in China and other countries, I would like to share some success factors and lessons learned.
First is the commitment of Government leaders at national, provincial, prefecture and county levels. These have been crucial, starting from the commitments made at the world summit for Children and follow up meetings here in China. Secondly China’s success also followed the adoption of a clear strategy and commitment of leaders at all levels on its implementation.

Third is the contribution of the salt sector, including the remarkable efforts of China Salt Industry Cooperation and designated provincial salt factories and offices to establish effective iodized edible salt production and distribution mechanisms. This is an excellent example of achievement of a human right through public and private sector collaboration.

A particular challenge is to make the price of salt affordable in poor areas with multiple natural salt resources. And that alone is not enough, as people have to be convinced of the benefits of buying iodised salt when they could easily get other salt at little or no cost. Hence there is a need to inform them that iodine deficiency leads to brain damage in children and eventually affects socioeconomic development.

The fourth issue is that in the international community we are united in the knowledge that all areas in this world are at risk of iodine deficiency hence this initiative is universal, and covers all areas of China and the whole world. The job of IDD elimination does not finish at achievement of 90% coverage, every child has to be reached and the effort has to be sustained forever. 

Honorable Minister, let me now make four suggestions on the way forward. First is to build on lessons learnt and best practices. Second is to move from business as usual to innovative strategies that will raise coverage in left behind provinces and counties. Third is to prepare a detailed action plan with clear responsibilities and targets. Fourth is to ensure periodic joint monitoring of progress to allow for timely corrective action.

In conclusion, Honourable Minister, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I have enjoyed working with all of you in this initiative and as I prepare to leave China at the end of this month, I am confident that my successor will continue also to fully support your efforts to achieve the national targets. I would also like to commend the Micronutrient Initiative for providing financial support to the programme in China and hope that they will continue to do so in collaboration with all key players. Once again I thank you all.

Xie Xie.