Updated PAHO Regional Sodium Reduction Targets: A Tool to Tackle the Burden of Diet-related Noncommunicable Diseases

Abstract

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) supports Member States in efforts to reduce dietary sodium intake in the Region of the Americas and meet the World Health Organization (WHO) global target of a 30% relative reduction in mean population intake of salt/sodium intake by 2025. This short publication is based on the main publication, the Updated PAHO Regional Sodium Reduction Targets 2021–2025. These updated targets were adopted at the Meeting of the PAHO Technical Advisory Group on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention through Population-wide Dietary Salt Reduction in February 2021. The present publication summarizes the need for such targets, why and how they have been updated, and how countries can achieve them. It also includes a brief annex with questions and answers on the main aspects of reducing sodium intake and the recommended approach to doing so.