TEHRAN –The ministry of health has expounded on a wide range of services being offered to refugees, particularly in eastern South Khorasan, northeastern Khorasan Razavi, and southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan provinces.

The services include the establishment of health camps, the screening of communicable diseases, and the provision of safe water and sanitation, the health ministry’s website reported.

The health ministry has established permanent and temporary camps to do screening, and provide medical services such as injections, serum therapy, as well as treating acute patients.

Extensive screening of communicable diseases and epidemic risk management, like syndromic screening for 14 contagious diseases, ongoing water and food sampling, and disinfection of drinking water, are among other measures adopted by the ministry.

Improving infrastructures, access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities, as well as environmental hygiene like proper management of infectious waste in camps are other parts of the health ministry efforts to ensure the prevention of communicable diseases, and monitoring the environment to prevent the transmission of diseases such as Malaria, Chloral (El Tor), and other similar diseases are some other services offered to refugees.

The health ministry has done its best to manage referrals, with an average of more than 5,000 individuals receiving health services at busy times.  It has also enhanced camps’ capacities in terms of human resources, equipment, temporary beds, coordination, and logistical support for the immediate provision of medicine, disinfectants, personal protective equipment, and other essential items.

Health services at border terminal

According to an official with the health ministry, some 36,000 illegal Afghan refugees have benefited from medical services offered on the Dogharon border terminal in Taybad, north-eastern Khorasan Razavi province, while returning to their home country.

They were visited by physicians and received nursing services. They were also educated about proper hygiene practices and ways to avoid communicable diseases. Also, suspicious cases received testing, IRNA quoted Soudabeh Nekouhi as saying.

Heatstroke, food poisoning, and high blood pressure were among the main reasons to visit the health center, she added.

From the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 21), medical products worth one billion rials (almost 1.150 dollars) have been distributed among undocumented refugees in Dogharon. Moreover, 22,492 Afghans who have legally entered the country were screened, and 10,753 individuals were vaccinated as part of the prevention program, Nekouhi said.

All the Afghan nationals, 85 percent of whom are men, are screened and tested for 16 different diseases, she further noted.

Since the beginning of the current Iranian year, March 21, more than 800,000 unauthorized Afghans have returned to Afghanistan, 80 percent of them have left the country voluntarily.

According to Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni the country is not planning to deport documented and authorized refugees.

“We are only deporting the two million Afghans who are illegally residing in Iran,” he said.

MT/MG