TEHRAN - The health minister has said an additional 1,000 neonatal intensive care beds will be supplied to hospitals, noting that there is no shortage of pediatricians.

Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi also said the death toll among children has dramatically dropped compared to the past, IRNA reported on Thursday.

Qazizadeh Hashemi, who was speaking on the sidelines of the 27th international conference on pediatrics, said that neonatal intensive care beds are available in most of the cities and “our colleagues will put efforts into keeping premature infants alive.”

Increasing the number of intensive care beds is one of the goals in line with the health reform plan, the minister said, adding this must be implemented in the current year to help premature infants, weighing less than 500g, to survive.

The current Iranian year will end on March 19, 2016.

“The Health Ministry has allocated a substantial capital for the development of pediatrics sections in hospitals and medical centers to reduce people’s challenges day by day,” he explained.

Qazizadeh Hashemi also called on parents to pay special attention to congenital diseases which create problems not only for the patients but also for the health system.

The health minister called on parents to take the required tests before pregnancy and if they have any child suffering from congenital diseases, consult with geneticists if they plan to have a second child.

He also wanted parents to pay more attention to their children’s weight as overweight has increased in the country by 60 percent over the last decade.

The minister went on to say that one of the most important causes of death among children is car accidents, the health minister said. He also blamed parents’ ignorance as another important cause contributing to children’s death.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Qazizadeh Hashemi thanked the Ministry of Education for providing dental services for first graders and expressed hope to deliver similar cares to all students in the near future.

He also said that “media play an important role in reducing child abuse; however, we cannot close our eyes to economic causes behind the phenomenon. Poverty is one of the most important reasons resulting in street children and consequently in child abuse. Therefore, it is necessary to take revolutionary decisions in economy, a burden which rest on policy makers’ shoulders.”

PT/PA