Salt reduction programme
Reducing dietary salt is recommended to prevent non communicable diseases and AHO to improve population health.
Excess dietary salt increases blood pressure causing approximately 30% of hypertension and is a probable pro carcinogen for gastric cancer and is also associated with kidney stones and osteoporosis.
Where assessed, the salt consumption is more than 5/g day, maximum quantity recommended by WHO. African descent people are particularly susceptible to the adverse blood pressure effects of excess salt. High levels of blood pressure is a contributory factor in at least 40% of all heart disease and stroke which represent 45 % of NCDs. Hypertension is a major health risk in the Americas where between 20-35% of the adult population has elevated blood pressure.