TEHRAN – With the support of the health ministry, some 40 percent of the girls at secondary schools and high schools will receive iron and vitamin D supplements.

The programs aim to address Iron and vitamin D deficiencies. The iron supplementation program will last 16 weeks, and each week the target students will take one pill, while the vitamin D supplementation program will go on for nine months. Each month, a vitamin D tablet (containing 50,000 international units) will be given to the students, ISNA reported.

The health ministry will also implement other programs, including health screening for the students in 4th, 7th, and 10th grades. So far, more than 60 percent of the students have been screened. The program will continue till the end of the first month in winter, January 20.

The students in tenth grade are offered a combination of vaccines to protect them against diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), and tetanus (lockjaw) free of charge.

The iron supplementation program started in girls’ high schools 23 years ago.

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 coverage of the iron supplementation program has risen from 57 percent in the Iranian year 1400 (March 2021– 2022) to 91 percent in 1402 (March 2023 – 2024), Ahmad Esmaeilzadeh, an official with the health ministry, said in May.

The vitamin D supplementation program started in the country in 2014.  “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, the ministry of education, and parents,” Esmaeilzadeh noted.

MT/MG