According to a report published by UNICEF and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, nearly 19 million babies born annually are at risk of permanent yet preventable brain damage and reduced cognitive function due to the lack of iodine in the earliest years of life. A Senegalese woman is working to change those odds in her country.
Senegal mines over 450 000 tonnes of salt every year, making it the largest producer in West Africa. The country's small-scale miners account for one third of this overall production, according to The Guardian newspaper. Unfortunately, many of these small-scale farmers fail to iodise their salt, meaning only about 37% of Senegalese households have access to adequately iodised salt, according to a 2015 nationwide survey. Statistics for the rural areas are even worse. And because Senegal is such a large salt producer in the region, countries like Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are also affected by this deficiency.
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