45% of pregnant women and 35% children suffer from iron deficiency
Morocco, Health, 12/20/2000

Morocco's Health minister, Thami El Khyari, said here Tuesday, iron deficiency affects 45% of pregnant women and 35% of children.

According to the minister who supervised the distribution of iron and vitamins donations said national statistics reveal that 22% of children aged between 6 and 12 suffer from goiter, with rates reaching 50 to 78% in mountainous regions, vitamin A deficiency affects 41% of children aged below 6, including 3% who suffer eye diseases. Statistics also show that 2.5% of children suffer from rickets.

In view of these problems, the health ministry has prepared a nationwide program to eliminate Vitamin A deficiency and its effects and problems resulting from Iodine deficiency in newborns and reduce by one third anemia.

The program strategy is to promote awareness on best nutrition practices, encourage breast-feeding, prevent diseases by giving micro-nutriments in the form of medicine and add one or more micro-nutriments to consumption products.

The ministry distributed 50,000 iron boxes, each containing 1,000 pills, donated by the Canadian government to the UNICEF representation in Morocco. Helen keller Foundation also donated 3,000,000 doses of Vitamin A.

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