TEHRAN – The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) and Iraq’s Ministry of Health have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in healthcare, with a focus on medical education, treatment, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment.

The head of the IRCS, Pirhossein Kolivand, and the Iraqi health minister, Abdul Hussein Aziz Al-Moussawi, met in Baghdad on Thursday, the IRCS website reported.

The meeting focused on holding joint specialized and subspecialized educational courses, sharing clinical experiences, enhancing specialized skills of Iraqi health staff, and fostering cooperation in manufacturing pharmaceutical and medical tools.

The Iranian official highlighted the high capacity of the IRCS in the field of health, including the extensive network of medical centers, polyclinics, specialized medical and nursing capabilities, large number of volunteers, noting that the IRCS is ready to benefit from its expertise and knowledge to foster collaborations between the two sides.  

He also announced the IRCS's readiness to train Iraqi physicians, nurses, and specialized personnel, dispatch Iranian experts, distinguished professors, and medical teams to Iraq, as well as help establish medical and nursing schools in Iraq, particularly Najaf.

For his part, Al-Moussawi lauded Iran’s help, saying that “I am deeply grateful for your support. We are committed to directing all of our efforts toward establishing and further developing this cooperation.”

Setting up humanitarian training center in West Asia

In June, Kolivand proposed that the United Nations resident coordinator and the director of the Regional Office for West and Central Africa launch a humanitarian training center in West Asia, announcing readiness to take the leading role in this regard.

The IRCS head offered the proposal in a meeting with the UN resident coordinator, Christine Weigand, and the director of the Regional Office for West and Central Africa at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Charles Bernimolin.

Benefiting from 110,000 specialized and trained staff, as well as six million young volunteers, the Iranian Red Crescent Society has a high capacity in providing relief, educational, and humanitarian services, IRNA quoted Kolivand as saying.

The IRCS has an active presence in offering rescue and relief services to people in accidents and natural disasters. It is the only national society in the world that utilizes mounted volunteers to provide rescue services in insurmountable areas. The IRCS also has significant achievements in air rescue and the use of drones in rescue missions, he added.

Currently, the IRCS is cooperating with 19 countries across the world in manufacturing artificial and smart organs. The society has also developed the capacity to produce medical and pharmaceutical products.

The official highlighted that the IRCS measures during the recent US-Israeli war against Iran have drawn the attention of the international community and humanitarian institutions, which has paved the way to the expansion of collaborations.

He went on to say that the IRCS is ready to foster cooperation with the UN and its affiliated agencies in sharing relief experiences, holding joint educational courses, developing regional cooperation, enhancing human capacities, and even establishing a UN regional coordinating office in Iran.

For her part, Weigand lauded the IRCS efforts and accomplishments in concurrent management of the recent war and floods in the country, noting that the IRCS’s precise and up-to-date reports and documents on the war have been a key factor in reflecting the realities, making humanitarian demands, drawing the attention of the international community, and attracting their support and aid for impacted individuals.

Bernimolin, for his part, said the activities and capabilities of the IRCS have been recognized internationally for years; the IRCS is known as a professional, capable, and respected society.

The IRCS’s accurate reports and documents have greatly contributed to monitoring humanitarian conditions, assessing needs, and planning humanitarian responses, he added.

He said that the future collaborations between UN and IRCS will be centered around promoting educational cooperation, sharing expertise, and benefiting from reciprocal capacities. The official called for enhancing joint efforts in addressing the needs of those affected, and strengthening humanitarian actions.

MT/MG