A 10-YEAR REVIEW OF THE IODINE DEFICIENCY DISORDERS PROGRAM OF THE PEOPLES-REPUBLIC-OF-CHINA

This paper reviews the Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) Elimination P rogram of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Over 700 million peopl e live in iodine deficient regions of China and the social and economi c consequences of IDD are profound. National and international organis ations have supported China's advocacy, social mobilisation and health education programs. Many countries affected by IDD have benefited fro m discoveries emerging from China's aggressive and effective multisect oral approach to this massive public health problem. The challenge of the next decade is to sustain the momentum through the use of cost-eff ective monitoring and quality improvement strategies, particularly, in those regions in which a large proportion of babies continue to be at risk of brain damage due to iodine deficiency. This paper sets China' s IDD Program in an international context by reference to the literatu re and through consultation with public health experts.