Baguio City - The Regional Implementation Coordination Team-Cordillera Administrative Region (RICT-CAR), through RICT-CAR Resolution No. 1, s. 2021, affirmed the re-organization of the Regional Bantay Asin Task Force-CAR (RBATF-CAR) to include Provincial and City Nutrition Action Officers (P/CNAOs).
This was approved during the online RICT-CAR meeting held on July 27, 2021 and was attested by Ms. Bella M. Basalong, OIC-Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator of the National Nutrition Council-CAR, Dir. Ruby C. Constantino, Regional Director of the Department of Health-Center for Human Development (DOH-CHD)-CAR, and Ms. Diana D. Palangchao, Development Management Officer III of DOH-CHD-CAR.
As presented during the RBATF-CAR meeting last June 16, 2021, 53% of salt tested within the region in November 2020 are considered inadequately iodized with 14 ppm and below iodine content. With this, the body emphasized the need of provincial representatives during RBATF and Regional Nutrition Committee meetings to provide updates and present concerns of their Local BATFs.
The affirmation is reinforced by Section 3 of Republic Act 8172, “An Act Promoting the Salt Iodization Nationwide and for Related Purposes”, which requires the Local Government Units, through their health officers and nutritionist/dietitians, or in their absence through their sanitary inspectors, to check and monitor the quality of food-grade salt being sold in their market in order to ascertain that such salt is iodized. It is also backed by the Regional Social Development Committee-CAR through Resolution No. 1 series of 2019 which encourages LGUs to strengthen the implementation and monitoring of the ASIN Law and establish Local BATF and use Iodine Checker Machines in testing presence and level of iodine in salt samples.
DOH highlights the importance of iodine in achieving optimum mental and physical development. Iodine deficiency can lead to thyroid disorders which could detrimentally affect intellectual and physical capacity. These are manifested as goiter, thyroid malignancy, mental deficiency, physical deformities, congenital hypothyroidism, stunting, reproductive failure, and even death among susceptible individuals.
SIMON B. COPEZ & BELLA M. BASALONG
