TEHRAN – The successful experience of the Islamic Republic of Iran in controlling the coronavirus pandemic will be made known in the seventy-fifth session of the World Health Assembly, Health Minister Bahram Einollahi has said.

Focused on the theme of “Health for Peace, Peace for Health”, the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly is being held in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 22 to 28.

Stating that the country has been able to reduce the Covid mortalities from 700 cases to less than 10, he added that this success has even been considered by the world’s scientific circles.

Ahmed al-Mandhari, the World Health Organization director for Eastern Mediterranean Region, has said Iran is a role model for primary health care. The summit will address health-priority issues around the world, including primary health care, sustainable development goals, vaccinations, the role of medicine and the environment in health, he said, adding that Iran’s achievement in containing the global pandemic is also mentioned.

The successes of the Iranian health sector in the last three decades, especially in the field of polio eradication, vaccination, measles control, and elimination of neonatal tetanus have always been considered by the World Health Assembly, he explained.

Einollahi is heading the Iranian delegation to the seventy-fifth session of the World Health Assembly.

Other key topics under discussion include strengthening WHO preparedness for and response to health emergencies, an implementation road map 2023–2030 for the global action plan for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, and an intersectoral Global Action Plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders 2022-2031, prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment; poliomyelitis; and the Global Health for Peace Initiative.

Health development

Based on innovative indicators of health technology development in 2021, Iran was ranked 60th among 132 countries, which shows an improvement of 60 steps compared to 2014, the deputy health minister for research and technology, has announced.

A total of 1,670 knowledge-based firms are operating in the health sector, ISNA quoted Younes Panahi as saying.

He added that there are 13 science and technology parks and 95 technology growth centers in the field of health, while 343 technological products have so far been licensed, and 335 inventions in medical sciences have been patented.

The health technology development is evaluated by the Global Innovation Index with seven indicators, including institutional structure, human capital and research, infrastructure, market and business complexity, technological knowledge, and creativity, he explained.

In June 2021, Ahmed al-Mandhari, the World Health Organization director for Eastern Mediterranean Region, said the Islamic Republic of Iran is a role model for primary health care.

For the past four decades, its PHC network has aimed to ensure that people have timely access to affordable, accessible, and acceptable essential health services, he explained.

“At the outset of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Islamic Republic of Iran made its primary health care system a core part of its national response. This PHC infrastructure allowed systematic outreach activities for early case detection, contact tracing, and triage for hospital referral (if necessary) by community health workers.

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