TEHRAN – The health ministry is implementing the national micronutrients supplement programs under which Iron and vitamin D are distributed at high schools to address deficiencies in students, an official with the health ministry has said.

The iron supplementary program started in girls’ high schools 23 years ago. According to the program, female students receive one pill each week, for four months during the school academic year, ISNA quoted Ahmad Esmaeilzadeh as saying.

Iron deficiency causes anemia. It disturbs concentration, negatively impacts learning ability, leads to fatigue, and weakens the immune system. In addition to taking supplements, it is also recommended to consume an iron-rich diet such as meat and legumes, the official said.

The coverage of the iron supplementation program has risen from 57 percent in Iranian year 1400 (2021– 2022) to 91 percent in 1402 (2023 – 2024), he added.

The official went on to say that a vitamin D supplementation program started in the country in 2014. Currently, a vitamin D (containing 50,000 international units) is given to each male and female student in high schools monthly.

Over the past three years, the coverage of the program has surged from 51 percent to 80 percent, indicating effective cooperation among the health ministry, and ministry of education, and parents, he highlighted.

Challenges to the programs include limited budget, school administrators’ disagreement, or students’ resistance to taking supplements, Esmaeilzadeh added.

MT/MG