Policy Making in Case of Iodine deficiency disorder Based on Agent Interaction in West Java Province

Abstract

Iodine Deficiency Disorder (IDD) is a syndrome emerges as result of a continuously low Iodine content in human body during a period of time. The year 1998's National Mapping IDD Survey throughout areas of Indonesia shows that 33% of sub district in the country are classified as endemic, 21% as low endemic, 5% as medium endemic and 7% as severe endemic areas. IDD has become a serous issue because its impacts, directly and indirectly, to the human being and to the quality of human resources. Due to serious impacts of IDD, the government of Indonesia has tried to prevent IDD problems by focusing on distribution of iodized oil capsule for productive women (15 - 49 years old) in severe and medium endemic areas (as the short term effort), and salt iodination or iodized salt consumption (as the long-term effort). But the program is not yet optimal, because some producers are still producing non-iodized salt or producing iodized salt with less than 30 ppm iodine content, some distributors are still distributing non-iodized salt or distributing iodized salt with less than 30 ppm iodine content and majority of consumers is not critical and less concerned toward the consumption salt product. To overcome the problem, then, it needs Social Enforcement as a policy for pressuring and supporting through the regulator function. In the previous research, it doesn’t involve agent’s activities process. In our research, it will describe people activities process in order to consume iodized salt especially in endemic areas in West Java and including the previous policy by government to take care this problem using social simulation SOARS. The objective of our research is to get new policies which could reduce Iodine Deficiency Disorder problem.