Worldwide Service
Kiwanis International & U.S. Fund for UNICEF
giving children A SMART START in life
All children deserve the best possible start in life.Yet, every day, 113,000 babies are born at risk of iodine deficiency.
Imagine being one of these children. You might not be able to learn as quickly as others, and this could hinder your chances of success in life without you even knowing why. Worse still, you might suffer lifelong severe disabilities.
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What is iodine?
Where does it come from?
Iodine is a trace element found mostly in soil. In a perfect world, crops absorb iodine through their root systems, and humans and livestock take in iodine through the foods they eat. In vast regions of the world, however, arable land doesn't contain enough of this essential element, and crops and livestock in these areas are therefore deficient in iodine.
IDD FAQs
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Imagine being the mother of a child who, without realizing it, is herself iodine deficient, and thereby deprives her baby of iodine during pregnancy. Much of the damage caused by iodine deficiency may be done before a child is even born.
If the future of a society lies in the health and talents of its children, imagine how iodine deficiency hampers the development of entire nations when, child by child, its young people are unable ever to reach their full potential.
Every child deserves a smart start in life. We need just a teaspoonful of iodine throughout our lifetime, but we need it in tiny amounts, daily. Iodizing salt can provide the iodine we need to grow, to develop, and to achieve our greatest dreams for ourselves and for our children.
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84 MILLION NEWBORNS ARE ANNUALLY
PROTECTED AGAINST IDD
38 MILLION NEWBORNS ARE ANNUALLY
UNPROTECTED AGAINST IDD
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Photography on all WSP pages provided by:
Scott Shelley
John Rae
UNICEF/Sam Henriques
UNICEF/Bruno Sorrentino