TEHRAN- On the occasion of Government Week (August 24-30), a total of 572 health centers will be inaugurated in the country.

Deputy Health Minister, Hossein Farshidi, announced that 4,000 health projects will also be implemented by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2024), IRNA reported.

Curbing the coronavirus, implementing the Family Physician program, controlling infectious and non-infectious diseases, and improving people's health literacy are among the government's achievements in the past two years, he highlighted.

Implemented projects      

In January, Amir Saki, an official with the ministry of health, said by the end of the past Iranian calendar year (March 20), some 2,000 health projects would be inaugurated across the country with the priority given to underprivileged and rural areas, ISNA reported.

Improving the infrastructure for providing healthcare services, especially in border areas was among the main goals of the projects, he added.

In the past 20 years, the health indicators of the rural population have grown significantly, Mostafa Rezaei, head of the primary healthcare network of the Ministry of Health, said in October last year.

“For nearly 20 years, we have been providing first-level services to 29 million people in the form of an insurance program for rural areas and cities with less than 20,000 people. These services include service packages for age groups plus services for vulnerable groups,” he explained.

“The good situation we have in rural areas compared to urban areas is people's access to PHC (Primary health care) services. This means that health care and treatment are provided to all villagers and the rural family physician program has been implemented and pursued for almost 20 years.”

Primary health care is provided to rural residents by 31,000 health care providers (called Behvarz) nationwide.

Over six years (1984 to 1990), the PHC system was fully developed throughout the country. In rural areas, Health Houses are established in villages with over 300 residents, which are under the supervision of a rural comprehensive health center.

Each health center takes control of five Health Houses. Two healthcare providers provide primary care in each health house, including preventive care, health promotion, screening, and basic medical services for predefined conditions, to an approximate population of 1,100 people.

Currently, 18,000 health centers are providing services to over 20 million villagers nationwide, with 630 health care providers, Rezaei highlighted.

In 2005, Family Physician Program started aiming to strengthen preventive measures and protect people's health with the participation of capable groups under the supervision of the country's health and treatment network.

MT/MG