Nepal brings Iodized Salt Act into implementation after 26 years

KATHMANDU, April 17: The Iodized Salt (Production, Sale and Distribution) Act, 2055(1998), which had remained unenforced for over two decades, has finally come into effect.

The Act was implemented after a proposal brought forward by Minister for Health and Population (MoHP), Pradip Paudel, was approved by the cabinet meeting on April 15. With this, the MoHP has a legal framework to address the excessive iodine levels found in children as revealed by previous research and the resulting health problems.

Although the act was published in the Nepal Gazette on January 15, 1999, it stated that it would come into effect from a date specified through a notice in the Gazette. However, governments failed to publish such a notice, and as a result, the act had not been legally enforced until now. Therefore, regulations and directives necessary for the implementation and enforcement of the Act could not be formulated. Now, after more than two and a half decades, the MoHP has a legal pathway to move forward with this work.

The cabinet meeting on Tuesday decided to publish a notice in the Nepal Gazette, effective from July 17, 2025). This marks the implementation of the Act after 26 years.

Head of the Nutrition Branch of the MoHP, Department of Health Services, Leela Bikram Thapa said that the MoHP’s research conducted a decade ago showed that due to the standards set in the past, excessive iodine was available to children, leading to serious health problems.

In 2016, a micronutrient analysis survey conducted by the MoHP found that the urine iodine levels of children aged 6 to 9 years were 314 micrograms per liter, whereas the recommended level is 300 micrograms per liter. Doctors have pointed out that this excess iodine can lead to health issues such as high blood pressure and thyroid problems.

Although the Act has been practically implemented, the lack of a published notice in the Gazette regarding its commencement and details, including the areas covered, has created obstacles in formulating regulations and directives to address the identified health issues, said Dr Prakash Budhathoki, spokesperson for the MoHP. “Now, with the publication in the Gazette, it will be easier for the MoHP, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, and other relevant bodies to revise standards or carry out any other necessary actions,” he added.