TEHRAN — Ahmed Al-Mandhari, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO), will visit Iran, the deputy health minister for international affairs has said.

Mohsen Asadi Lari explained that Al-Mandhari will pay visits to healthcare and research centers and will be informed about the achievements and challenges of healthcare reform plan.

The healthcare reform plan, aiming at decreasing the out-of-pocket expenses for the patients, promoting natural birth, and supporting underprivileged patients suffering from rare or incurable diseases, was launched in the country in May 2014.

The EMRO Regional Director will also attend a session of National Non-Communicable Disease Committee at the Ministry of Health and will be briefed about measures taken to combat non-communicable diseases in the country, IRNA news agency quoted Asadi Lari as saying on Friday. 

He will also visit with high-ranking officials at the Ministry of Health to discuss increased cooperation with Iran to boost health in other regional countries, Asadi Lari concluded.

The deputy health minister for international affairs did not specify the exact date of Al-Mandhari visit to Iran. 

The WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for public health within the United Nations system. The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean is one of WHO’s 6 regional offices around the world. It serves the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, which comprises 21 Member States and Palestine, with a population of nearly 583 million people.

MQ/MG