Food shortages in Iran: A growing threat to public health

With Iran’s economic problems mounting, food shortages and the associated consequences of malnutrition have become a serious threat to the health of millions of people across the country. Recent official data show that residents of certain provinces face particularly dire conditions.

Mohammad Esmail Motlaq, Head of the Secretariat of the High Council for Food Security and Protection, recently identified eight provinces where the population is at high risk of food insecurity: Sistan and Baluchestan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Ilam, Hormozgan, Bushehr, Khuzestan, Kerman and Khorasan.

In response to this crisis, Iranian authorities have developed a “minimum basket” program that sets daily and monthly food requirements to maintain health. The Ministry of Health claims to have compiled this minimum food basket “with the participation of university professors, nutritionists and experts.” However, Iranian labor has repeatedly criticized the program, arguing that it cannot meet families’ minimum calorie needs. Critics claim that the government has reduced the recommended calorie intake and per capita amounts of foods with high inflation rates, such as meat and rice, in this basket.

Despite these concerns, the Supreme Council of Labor used the Ministry of Health’s minimum wage guidelines when setting workers’ wages in March 2023, resulting in a mere 27% increase in workers’ rights. This figure is well below the current inflation rate, leaving minimum wage earners unable to even cover basic expenses such as rent.

According to a report in the Dunyai Ekhtaz newspaper, a family of three now has to spend between 1,200,000 and 2,800,000 tomans per month to buy a minimum basket of fruit. For a worker earning less than 10 million tomans, this expenditure is simply unaffordable, forcing many to forgo fruit and essential vitamins and turn instead to cheaper, less nutritious alternatives.

The impact goes beyond fruits and vegetables. Union activists from various sectors report reduced demand for red meat, chicken, eggs, rice, dairy products and even beans.

Official data paint a bleak picture of food security in various provinces:

• In South Khorasan, only 47% of families have secure food supply, while 53% fall into the “insecure” category.
• In Sistan and Baluchestan, only 30 percent of the population enjoys food security, while 70 percent suffer from food insecurity.
• Khuzestan province reports food security at 42% and food insecurity at 58%.
• In Kerman province, only 16% of the population is food secure, while 74% are affected by food insecurity.

Nasser Kalantari, a member of the Children’s Nutrition Association, underlined the severity of the situation, saying that seven poor provinces in Iran experience food shortages all year round and lack healthy and sufficient food.

Given increasing economic pressures, tackling food insecurity and its far-reaching health consequences remains a critical challenge for policymakers and public health officials in Iran.