TEHRAN – The basic health care units (BHCU) deployed by the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) are providing services free of charge in less privileged areas on the occasion of the 47th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, which is being marked from February 1-11.

The effort aims to improve public health, facilitate access to healthcare services, and meet the medical needs of individuals in deprived areas, as well as improve the operational readiness of the IRCS teams, Hamid-Reza Dehqan, an official with the IRCS, has said.

It also helps to enhance medical teams’ emergency response in disasters, the official added. 

A wide range of services are offered at BHCU, including visits, nursing services, provision and distribution of medicines, maternal and child health care, mental health services, nutritional counselling, and environmental health measures, Dehqan added.

Rescue services in 10 months

In the first ten months of the current Iranian year, which started in March 2025, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has provided rescue services to 675,300 people across the country.

These include 29,926 accidents all over the country. That is, 15,774 traffic accidents, 823 climatic accidents, and 1,178 cases of accidents occurred in mountainous areas. About 5,754 individuals were visited in person during mass gatherings. There were also 2,736 medical emergencies, 268 water accidents, 379 industrial hazards, and 3,059 other cases, the IRCS website reported.

During the same period, the IRCS relief teams transported 16,593 people to medical centers, provided emergency accommodation for 244,977 individuals, and treated 167,457 others on site.

Since the beginning of the current Iranian year, a total of 1,949 accidents have been recorded in the mountains and forests. Rescuers transferred 626 people to medical centers and provided relief services to 125 individuals on site.

IRCS is a key humanitarian actor

In November 2025, Hossam Elsharkawi, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), highlighted the role of the IRCS as one of the region’s and the world’s key humanitarian actors.

Lauding the IRCS efforts, Elsharkawi congratulated Pirhossein Kolivand’s re-election as the head of the IRCS, saying that the IRCS decisions are highly effective at international levels, IRNA reported.
The official made the remarks in an online meeting with Kolivand on November 14, 2025. During the meeting, the two officials discussed ways to foster collaborative efforts, develop rescue systems to enhance the country’s preparedness and response capabilities, and conduct international meetings and conferences in Iran.

The IRCS proposed hosting an international Islamic youth conference and the conference of leaders of national societies from Islamic countries.

The two sides emphasized the need to implement the previously signed memoranda of understanding between the two organizations to lay the ground for promoting educational, operational, and logistic collaborations.

The IRCS also suggested introducing an expert to follow up on managerial and technical cooperation with the Regional Office for MENA.

MT/MG