Entering pregnancy with adequate iodine in the diet protects children's brain development and helps them to grow and learn better. The small amounts of iodine needed can be obtained by using iodized salt in cooking or in food products. It costs just 5 cents a year for a lifetime of protection.
Despite not being directly related to schools, removing this barrier to healthy development is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to support children's educational outcomes.
IGN is only organization with a sole objective to protect the world from iodine deficiency. The problem has never fully disappeared, and changing dietary patterns are causing deficiency to re-emerge, even in some of the world’s wealthiest countries.
Without our work, the global progress achieved over the past few decades could disappear. It would be a major loss to humanity to see this progress slip away when we know how to prevent it. It may be a humble intervention, requiring relatively small amounts of funding, but its impact is enormous. Thanks to all of you for your past and future support for our work.