QUEZON CITY, 18 January – In observance of the 2021 Goiter Awareness Week (GAW), NNC-Calabarzon recently distributed  t- shirts with the inscriptions “Sakto ba ang Iodine sa Asin mo?”  and  “Hanapin ang SISA Seal!”  to advocate the prevention of  thyroid disorders.

Thyroid disorders are caused by iodine deficiency that leads to goiter or the enlargement of the thyroid glands. It is a condition characterized by the  lack of trace elements in the body  which  are  essential   for healthy pregnancy and in the  maintenance of metabolic processes, growth, and body temperature.

Although goiters are usually painless, they can  cause health complications  like swelling at the base of the neck, coughing, hoarseness, tight feeling in the heart,   difficulty  swallowing and  breathing.

Thus, the consumption of  iodized salt with SISA or “Saktong Iodine sa Asin Seal”  seal is encouraged. It helps to  identify the  salt  in the market with the right amount of iodine.  An adequately iodized salt should contain 30-70 parts per million or ppm of iodine.

The  2018 Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS) revealed that  “Iodine deficiency disorders is still present among all age groups, and although the percentage has significantly decreased from year 2013 to 2018, continuing programs and strategies of the government in combating  the disorder and other related diseases are still on-going.”

Goiter Awareness Week is celebrated every 4th week of January  of every year with the theme: “Goiter Sugpuin, Isip Patalinuhin, Iodized Salt, Gamitin” declared under Presidential Proclamation 1188 on December 11, 2006.

Meanwhile,  NNC-Calabarzon is scheduled to  hold its first Regional Bantay Asin Task Force (RBATF) Meeting  on  January 22 for the planning of  activities.

By: Darrenz William M. Mateos