TEHRAN –Over 32 specialized medical centers are benefitting from Persian medicine across the country to increase the chance of infertility treatment, Nafiseh Hosseini-Yekta, the director of the health ministry’s Persian medicine office, has said.

Gynaecologists, urologists, genetic experts, and Persian medicine experts are examining and treating infertility cases in these centers. This interdisciplinary collaboration has brought about a significant transformation in the quality of medical services, ILNA quoted Hosseini-Yekta as saying. The official made the remarks on the occasion of the national population week (May 14 to 20).

Adhering to the principles of Persian medicine can increase the success rate of assisted reproductive methods such as IVF by up to 30 percent and significantly reduce pregnancy complications, the official added.

Following a scientific, systematic approach, the Health Ministry is implementing comprehensive programs for the integration of Persian medicine capacities into the healthcare system to treat infertility and address many other challenges, she added. 

In Persian medicine, each person is assessed based on their unique temperament, receiving a specific treatment and prevention program that best fits their physical, psychological, and even geographical conditions. This personalized approach can dramatically increase the effectiveness of treatments, she further noted.

Persian medicine highlights prevention over treatment, it believes reproductive health should be maintained from early childhood. “Many infertility problems result from an unhealthy lifestyle. So, we’re planning to develop educational programs for families and schools,” she said.

Integration of Persian medicine into healthcare system 

In December 2024, Hosseini-Yekta said, “The integration of Persian medicine into the healthcare system will not only help to improve health indicators but also have a significant impact on the economy of the country’s healthcare system,” the health ministry’s website reported.

“Iran has the capacity to become one of the pioneers in providing traditional and complementary medicine services in the world. 

The integration of Persian medicine in the healthcare system can be a turning point in the global application of the knowledge,” the official noted.

In July 2024, the health ministry held a workshop on principles and basic concepts of Persian medicine in accordance with the objective of integrating Persian medicine into the country’s healthcare system.

The two-day event aimed to promote the experts’ knowledge in Persian medicine, particularly in healthy lifestyle, as well as raise their awareness of the rules, guidelines, and national policy documents, the health ministry’s website reported.

During the workshop, prominent professors in Persian medicine discussed various topics including temperament, four senses of humor: phlegm (Balgham), blood (Dam), yellow bile (Safra’), and black bile (Sauda’), lifestyle measures, widely-used medicinal plants, and drug interactions.

Currently, nine faculties of Persian medicine enroll students in the country’s universities, she added.

Training Persian medicine experts has always been at the top of the Persian medicine office’s agenda. Therefore, different skill courses have been developed and held under the supervision of the health ministry.

Around 500 Persian medicine experts are providing health and medical treatment services across the country. More than 1,000 general practitioners who have passed the Persian medicine courses approved by the health ministry are also offering services.

National population week 

Being marked from May 14 to 20 under the theme ‘children, life assets’, the days of the national population week have been named as follows: Wednesday, May 14, ‘Father, mother, good sense of life’; Thursday, May 15, ‘Motherhood, elixir of youth’; Friday, May 16, ‘Desiring a child’; Saturday, May 17, ‘My lonely child’; Sunday, May 18, ‘I want to stay alive’; Monday, May 19, ‘My life in old age’; Tuesday, May 20, ‘Child-friendly society.’

MT/MG