Every year, the Iodine Global Network (IGN), which is a non-profit, non-government organization for the sustainable elimination of iodine deficiency worldwide (www.ign.org), releases a global scorecard of iodine nutrition in populations based on median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) in school-age children as a proxy for the general population. Based on the most recent scorecard 1, 2, 115 countries are classified as having optimal iodine nutrition, while 23 countries are still classified as iodine deficient (in Europe: Finland, Germany, and Norway). It is worth to note that the iodine intake in several countries formerly classified as optimal has declined, including Cambodia, Nicaragua, Tajikistan, and Germany, which reflects the risk of program backsliding and the need for vigilance and continuous monitoring. The scorecard also indicates that the iodine intake is classified as excessive in 14 countries, which reinforces the need for measures to reduce the excessive iodine exposure in these countries.
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