ESTABLISHING OF SUSTAINABLE AND
REGULARLY RUNNING EXTERNAL MONITORING
SYSTEM FOR THE IDD ELIMINATION PROGRAMS
IN CEE/CIS COUNTRIES

Primary consequences of IDD are retardation of children growth and development and also social-economic development of a country. The most economically effective and stable way for IDD prevention is iodization of all consuming salt. In this connection concentration of urinary iodine should be measured in order to make sure the population consumes adequately iodized salt and give an assessment of current iodine nutrition. Measuring urine iodine is conducted for biological monitoring and assessment of Program effectiveness on IDD prevention by salt iodization.
The Lab role on assessing iodine status of a population through urine iodine is important and invaluable for sustainable elimination of IDD in the region. Almost all of Labs in the region take part in IDD and USI monitoring Program, so there is important achievement of high accuracy of measuring urine iodine and thoroughness of the analyses performance by them.

In this connection it should be established Regional Resource Laboratories for Iodine (RRLI) Network in Central and East Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) region. The aim of the creating Regional IRLI Network in CEE/CIS is to strengthen monitoring on the sustainable elimination of IDD through achievement of Universal salt iodization (USI) with estimation of the iodine nutrition among a population by means of adequate laboratory assessing the iodine status. In the framework of Resource network it should be organized Regional program QUICK (quality urinary iodine control by KAN), which is open for all laboratories of CEE/CIS region. The various methods used for analysis, also significant differences in the proficiency and capacity of laboratories throughout the CEE/CIS region trouble making a comparison of population iodine status in various areas in the framework of different programs. Another complicated issue is that Programs on estimation of professional skills of labs and their staff, measuring the concentration of salt and urinary iodine, are not organized in all countries of the world. QUICK established for solution these objectives.

A regional center in the RRLI Network for CEE/CIS region is the Laboratory on Control and Prevention of IDD of the Kazakh Academy of Nutrition (KAN), which was selected by a team of international experts. The Laboratory on Control and Prevention of IDD established in the KAN in 1997, the head of the Lab – Ph.D., Doctor of Biology Ospanova Feruza E. Initiation of KAN laboratory activities as a regional laboratory for creating the CEE/CIS region network is conducted under the auspices of the International Resource Laboratories for the Iodine (IRLI), CDC, UNICEF, ICCIDD, MI, WHO.
In framework of the QUICK Program the regional Lab will render assistance and international support, consultation for improving the quality of laboratory analyses.

Members of the Regional Network of Iodine
Resource Laboratories

For more information, contact:

Kazakh Academy of Nutrition
Klochkov str., 66
Almaty,
Kazakhstan
Feruza Ospanova,
Tel. 8(727)3756855
Fax: 8(727)3760529
E-mail: fospanova@kan-kaz.org
tolyzhan@gmail.com
abeisbekova@gmail.com