Recruitment of study participants will be through a local investigator in close collaboration with the Ghanaian school authorities. Before starting the study, 6 children will be asked to participate in a pilot testing, where they will be administered 2 portions of rice (50 g dry weight) with a vegetable sauce with a four hours delay in between the meals. This is to allow the investigators to define, the optimal portion size, that will be used throughout the study. For their participation, the children will receive a small symbolic gift. The investigators envisage screening approximately 60 children living in Tamale and surrounding rural areas at least one week before study start. Recruitment of participants will be done until reaching a number of 30 eligible participants. Participant's caretakers will be explained the study procedures and need to sign a consent form before the participant is exposed to any study procedure. Participants at screening will be assigned a unique study identification (running number and participant's initials), which they will keep if included in the study. All data will be kept confidential. The medical history, dietary intake data and data concerning socioeconomic status will be assessed using questionnaires, body temperature, height and weight will be measured and z-scores (weight for age) will be calculated. A blood sample will be collected from each participant for the initial determination of iron status, detection of parasitic infections (including measurements of hemoglobin (Hb), serum ferritin (SF), soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR), Zinc protoporphyrin to heme ratio (ZPP), C-reactive protein (CRP), Alpha acid glycoprotein, and malaria parasitemia. All screened participants will receive an appropriate dose of an anthelmintic free of charge, unless they had received an according treatment within the last two months. Based on the information obtained from screening, in-/ exclusion criteria will be checked and participant's eligibility will be judged accordingly. Thirty iron deficient and/or anemic children (hereafter called participants) will be included in the absorption study. For the initial determination of the iron status and infection detection, the children will receive a symbolic gift from the investigators. There will be no monetary compensation for participation; however, the children or their caregivers will receive a symbolic gift for completion of the study. Potential transport costs for the children and their caregivers will be covered by the project.