TEHRAN – Over the past year, some 1,600 medical and healthcare projects have been inaugurated across the country, the Ministry of Health has reported.

The administration started the implementation of 4,040 medical and healthcare projects in the one-year period, IRNA reported.

Meanwhile, 572 other healthcare projects, 79 other medical projects, and eight to ten hospitals, each with a capacity of one thousand beds, will be inaugurated.

Moreover, some 500 hospitals will be renovated and refurbished.

On August 27, Deputy Health Minister, Hossein Farshidi, said 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.

Over six years (1984 to 1990), the primary health care 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, the 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.

In June 2021, Ahmed al-Mandhari, the World Health Organization director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, said the Islamic Republic of Iran is a role model for primary health care.

For the past four decades, its PHC network has aimed to ensure that people have timely access to affordable, accessible, and acceptable essential health services, he explained.

In October 2021, World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Iran Jaffar Hussain, said that Iran's health system can be a model for other countries in the region, especially in the field of health and the use of valuable forces such as healthcare providers.

The national budget bill for the current Iranian calendar year 1402, which started on March 21, has increased the health sector’s budget by 29 percent compared to the current year’s budget.

MG