Goiter increased among Palestinian children by 6 % because of lack of iodine

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Wednesday that Palestinian children are suffering from a disease called goiter.

Director of UNICEF's emergency program Nils Kastberg told reporters that goiter prevalence among Palestinian children increased by 6 %.

He said UNICEF is engaged with Palestinian salt producers, extracting salt from the Dead Sea, who are now iodizing the salt. It is hoped that in the next couple of years we will see a significant decrease in the disease, he said.

Talking to reporters on the occasion of UNICEF's portion of the UN consolidated appeal for world emergencies that stands at US$ 320 million, Kastberg added that UNICEF is concerned about the enormous exposure of children in the West Bank and Gaza. "The largest numbers of injured and killed in the conflict are children, one third if not more, and we believe it is very important to try to prevent that, we feel that children have the rights to have some breathing space in terms of their mental development," added kastberg.

Kastberg noted that the portion for the West Bank and Gaza in the appeal stands at $ 1,535,000.