Ivory Coast

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Collaboration

A partnership for salt iodization

In Ivory Coast, the government, in partnership with UNICEF and the Iodine Global Network (IGN), has developed the 2024-2025 national salt iodization action plan. This plan is designed to enhance governance and establish a conducive environment for the trade, sale, and consumption of high-quality iodized salt across the country.

Credit: UNICEF

Regional studies and workshops

In 2021 and 2022, IGN conducted comprehensive studies on the trade dynamics of iodized salt in West and Central Africa, as well as on the progress of universal salt iodization (USI) programs and the contribution of iodine intake from processed foods. The findings from these studies were discussed in a workshop organized by UNICEF and IGN in Dakar, Senegal, in 2022. This workshop brought together representatives from several countries in the region, including Senegal, Ghana, and Ivory Coast, to coordinate actions aimed at improving the trade and supply of iodized salt.

Credit: Wikimedia

The strategy

Taking action to improve the salt trade

IGN teams and stakeholders identified a robust set of actions to streamline trade procedures, enhance regional collaboration, and leverage partnerships to improve quality control and monitoring mechanisms for iodized salt. Among the key initiatives was the exploration of mechanisms to fast-track trade services and the creation of a repository of trusted importers and producers to ensure the availability of high-quality iodized salt.

Building on the findings of the regional trade analysis and the results of recent studies conducted in Ivory Coast, a government-led follow-up meeting took place in Abidjan in December 2023. With support from IGN, national stakeholders developed a time-bound and budgeted national plan of action. This plan focuses on strengthening fortification regulations, improving implementation and monitoring, raising awareness among salt traders, importers, and consumers, and facilitating trade through the establishment of a trusted trader and importer repository.