An inspiration with a health benefit

For us at IGN, it’s not a stretch to believe that a salt flat is a beautiful place, but the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia is considered one of the most beautiful and remarkable places in South America, if not the world.

Uyuni’s 4,000 square miles of salt crust, left by evaporated prehistoric lakes, presents a patchwork of patterns of salt.  Sometimes, covered by a thin layer of water, they reflect the sky and the stars at night.

But the salt flats are not only a source of wonder and inspiration. Salt mining has been happening in the region for hundreds of years, providing a living for the local population.  And now, the harvested salt also protects the developing brains of children in the region because a collaboration between local salt farmers, government and IGN has much improved iodization of the salt.

The story began in 2023, when IGN visited the salt extraction area of Uyuni and the salt iodization plants of nearby Colchani, targeting small and medium sized producers of salt, as well as the health authorities.  We provided workshops and technical assistance to improve both the quality and monitoring of salt iodization.  Visits to the salt plants identified poor iodization practices which they believed were working but were not.  However, there was a strong willingness to improve work practice, with the president of the local salt producers’ association immediately acquiring an electronic scale so that the correct amounts of iodate could be added.

On our return trip in September 2024, our objectives were to quantitatively review the fortification process and provide more suggestions for improvement, as well as working with the local government on a proposal to externally monitor salt iodization, with at least 10 brands improving the quality of iodized salt and another 9 close to doing so. We also provided a physical booklet using local terminology with the recommendations for producers.

We found that things had markedly improved – many plants had ameliorated and updated their facilities but also changed production practice to dry the salt better.  Most plants now also connect to the public drinking water network, and a road being built for tourism will also greatly benefit the salt supply chain.

A major challenge to these small producers in Bolivia and elsewhere is the rising cost of potassium iodate, which has more than doubled since 2022.  There are other sectors with greater demand for iodine – the main one as an X-ray contrast medium and in pharmaceuticals and LCD displays.  And as global demand increases, so does price.

Despite the challenges, there are major areas of progress – the municipality of Uyuni will set up a comprehensive nutrition unit to promote adequate diet and nutrition for the area’s population, including a nutrition technician to support monitoring efforts.  And we’ve made some recommendations, including further improvements to the salt plants and for raising public awareness of iodine nutrition and demand for iodized salt.

So for us, it’s not just the beauty of the area, but the inspiration that it provides us as we work to improve the iodine status of populations around the world.  We also thank you all for the support you give us as we do so.

May we wish you peace and joy at this time of year.

The IGN team