Ahmad Esmailzadeh, director general of the Community Nutrition Improvement Office at the Health Ministry of the Iranian regime, warned about the negative consequences of rising food prices—especially dairy products and protein sources—on the nutritional health of Iran’s population.
In an interview with ISNA, a state-run news agency, on Sunday, December 21, Esmailzadeh referred to the continued price hikes in the country and said: “In recent months, concerns about people’s nutrition have multiplied, and there is a fear that people may suffer from nutrient deficiencies.”
Runaway Price Increases and the Shadow of Hyperinflation Over Iran’s Economy
He added that the Health Ministry has repeatedly warned that rising food prices could lead to people’s “malnutrition,” because “even middle and higher income deciles” under current conditions have reduced their consumption of dairy and protein.
In recent weeks, an unprecedented rise in food prices and basic goods in Iran has placed heavy pressure on citizens’ lives.
Experts and social activists have warned that the continuation of this trend could have serious consequences, including damage to public health, the spread of malnutrition, and intensified psychological pressure on society.
The need to allocate subsidies for people’s nutrition
Continuing his interview, Esmailzadeh called for the allocation of subsidies in the field of nutrition and stressed that such a subsidy is “not a waste of resources.”
He said: “A subsidy for the nutrition sector is a form of prevention against the emergence of chronic diseases in the coming years, which costs far less than treatment.”
According to this Health Ministry official of the regime, if the government allocates “one percent of the taxes from food factories” to the Community Nutrition Improvement Office, these resources “could significantly reduce the burden on the country’s healthcare system in the coming years.”
On October 20, the Rouydad24 news website reported that with the intensification of the economic crisis and a sharp decline in people’s purchasing power, a growing number of Iranian citizens have lost the ability to secure essential food items, and malnutrition has now become a factor in about 35% of deaths in the country.
Warning about the consequences of malnutrition
Esmailzadeh also warned about the long-term consequences of the food crisis in the country and said: “Suffering from malnutrition leads to a reduction in the workforce in the future.”
He added: “The effects of reduced consumption of dairy, fruits, vegetables, and legumes will appear in the form of increased chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, strokes, osteoporosis, fractures, and other health problems.”
According to Esmailzadeh, the burden resulting from such conditions “will fall on this ministry,” forcing it to spend more on treatment.
Following the Iranian regime’s ineffective policies in economic, domestic, and foreign affairs over recent decades, runaway inflation has severely affected citizens’ lives, and the prices of basic goods have faced an unprecedented surge.
This comes as Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh, the agriculture minister of the Iranian regime, on October 8 described the trend of rising prices in the country as “logical” and said that food prices in Iran are “cheap even compared to global prices.”
Criticism over the lack of practical action to improve conditions
Esmailzadeh stated that if resources are allocated to the Community Nutrition Improvement Office of the Health Ministry, programs such as the distribution of milk in schools would be implemented.
At the same time, he acknowledged: “The current situation is such that we constantly have to talk about the worsening of malnutrition or point to the reduction in calcium and protein consumption. Unfortunately, many issues remain only at the level of words and talk, and there is no practical action beyond that.”
In November, media in Iran reported that despite the Education Ministry’s promise to distribute milk in Iranian schools, the plan has been implemented in only four provinces.
This is while in the current year’s budget, 65 trillion rials (approximately 50 million dollars) had been allocated for the implementation of this plan.
