TEHRAN - The Government of Japan has signed a financial donation agreement with the World Health Organization to support the consolidation of national efforts to respond to the COVID-19 emergency across Iran.

The agreement was signed between Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative and Head of Mission to Iran, and Hirotaka Matsuo, Charge d'Affaires ad interim in Japan to the Islamic Republic, during a ceremony in Tehran on Tuesday.

The grant aid project worth $6.3 million will provide a total of six MRI machines to Iran to strengthen its capacity to address the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in the country. These MRI machines will be delivered to public hospitals in five provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan, South Khorasan, North Khorasan, and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, by WHO Country Office.

“The 6.3-million-dollar grant will greatly facilitate the effective response of the government of Iran to COVID-19, particularly in the diagnostic and therapeutic aspect. The MRI machines will not only serve the COVID-19 response but at the same time for a medium-to-long-term to many other illnesses and diseases, which currently are of very important nature,” Hussain said.

“The coronavirus infection rapidly expanded all over the world and threatened not only human lives but also the world’s economy. From the very beginning of the outbreak of coronavirus, the Government of Japan considers that the emergency response to protect human lives and minimize socio-economic impacts is essential,” said Matsuo at the event. “I am convinced that these six MRI machines will contribute to preventing the further spread of the coronavirus infection in each region in Iran and will help local people to cure diseases.”

“Japanese knowledge and technology in this sector can play a key role to strengthen the relations between Japan and Iran,” he noted.

Matsuo also thanked the Iranian Ministry of Health and Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as WHO for all the efforts made to fight against COVID-19 and hoped that the world will soon overcome the challenges posed by this pandemic.

Since the emergence of COVID-19 in early 2020, the Government of Japan has donated about $34 million to support Iran in combating the pandemic through partnerships with various United Nations agencies in the country including WHO, UNDP, IOM, UNHCR, WFP, and IFRC.

The assistance to the day comprises a considerable number of CT scanners, echo sonographies, ABG analyzers along with their consumables, ventilators, portable ventilators, in addition to partial financing of an x-ray angiography machine and a portable digital x-ray system to tackle COVID-19.

Japan has also supported Iran by rapidly procuring about three million doses of the Japan-made AstraZeneca vaccine in July 2021 when the country was going through the immense fifth wave of the pandemic.

FB/MG