All schools across the country are covered by the Health Ministry’s plan for providing vitamin supplements in students’ diet, said Ali Akbar Sayyari, deputy minister of health, and urged students to take the vitamin D and iron supplements distributed so as to prevent health complications, including osteomalacia and anemia. “According to a recent survey, vitamin D deficiency increased 6-fold in the country during the last decade,” IRNA quoted him as saying. Last year (ended March 19) in cities including Mashhad, the rate of vitamin D deficiency was more than 75%. The rate fell to less than 6%, after vitamin D supplements were distributed among students for a period of nine months, he added.
