An enormous challenge faced the Kiwanis family in 1994 when it embarked on its first Worldwide Service Project, partnering with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), (US) Centers for Disease Control (CDC), local governments, and salt producers, to work toward the elimination of one of the world’s most prevalent public health problems: iodine deficiency disorders (IDD).

Thanks to the Kiwanis family and other partners, more than 70 percent of households in the developing world now use iodized salt. When the World Summit for Children took place in 1990, less than 20 percent of salt in the developing world was iodized. Heads of state and government from more than 70 countries at the Summit set a number of ambitious goals for children, including the goal of eliminating iodine deficiency disorders by 2000.

In 2003, the Kiwanis family renewed its fundraising efforts in order to protect more children as well as build on its previous investments. Raising funds was just a small part of the role the Kiwanis family played in the partnership to eliminate iodine deficiency. Kiwanis-family members around the world worked to sustain progress through advocacy, technical expertise, and education about the benefits of iodized salt. All children deserve the best possible start in life.

Imagine being one of these children, a child beset by iodine deficiency disorder. You might not be able to learn as quickly as others, and this could hinder your chances of success in life without your even knowing why. Worse still, you might suffer severe mental and physical retardation. Imagine being the mother of a child who, without realizing it, is herself iodine deficient, and thereby deprives her baby of iodine during pregnancy. Much of the damage caused by iodine deficiency may be done before a child is even born. If the future of a society lies in the health and talents of its children, imagine how iodine deficiency hampers the development of entire nations when, child by child, its young people are unable ever to reach their full potential.

The Kiwanis family has raised more than $91 million to virtually eliminate iodine deficiency from the face of the earth and insuring children a smart start in life.

Today, contributions to the Kiwanis International Foundation’s endowment for the Sustainability of Universal Salt Iodization (IDD) help protect the Kiwanis family’s investment to virtually eliminate iodine deficiency. The Foundation also lends its support of this effort through its Tablet of Honor and George F. Hixson Fellowship contribution programs.