TEHRAN – The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has provided aid for 2,607 individuals encountering accidents during the last week ended on January 5.

Attending 603 rescue missions across the country, IRCS rescuers saved the lives of 436 people in various natural disasters and road accidents, ISNA quoted Sadeq Mahmoudi, an official with IRCS, as saying.

A total of 364 wounded people were taken to medical centers, and 344 others received outpatient treatment services, he added.

Mahmoudi also said that rescuers helped 59 people in traffic accidents.

IRCS services

 A training workshop focusing on lowering harms caused by drug addiction was held with the cooperation of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) and Villa Maraini Foundation of Italy in Tehran in December 2023.

Pirhossein Kolivand, the head of the IRCS, and Massimo Barra, the head of the Villa Maraini Foundation, met on the sidelines of the event.

Kolivand stated that drug users encounter severe health issues, they also suffer from an identity crisis which leads to their exclusion by both their families and society, the IRCS website reported.

However, initiative projects, such as Harm Reduction pertaining to Drug Addiction, serve the purpose of educating and offering healthcare to these individuals, enabling them to reintegrate into society, reunite with their families, and restore self-esteem.

Barra, for his part, emphasized the significance of the problems resulting from drug addiction. Since a large number of individuals are globally affected by addiction, it is crucial to provide them with additional support through greater cooperation, he added.

In December 2023, volunteer physicians were sent to provide free health and pharmaceutical services to people in deprived areas, an official with the IRCS said.

The program was implemented on the occasion of World Volunteer Day, commonly known as IVD, which is celebrated on December 5 every year.

It's a day where volunteers are acknowledged and the spirit of volunteerism is promoted at the local, national, and international levels.

“Volunteer physicians would be sent to deprived areas from Ilam, Kermanshah, Yazd, Bushehr, Markazi, West Azarbaijan, and Kerman provinces to serve the people in these areas,” Vahid Salimi said.

They would provide free health and pharmaceutical services, including visiting patients, dental and midwifery services, and traditional medicine and acupuncture consultation.

They would also check people’s health, blood pressure, height, and weight.

Moreover, oral and dental health care would be taught to the students of the villages.

The main objective of dispatching volunteers was to improve the health of the villagers due to the unavailability of specialist doctors in these areas and reduce medical expenses.

The IRCS in cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) organized eight educational workshops for students and their family members residing in the city of Khoy which was struck by a strong earthquake in January 2023.

On January 28, an earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale hit Khoy in the northwestern West Azarbaijan province. The disaster affected at least 261,000 people and displaced 130,000 from their homes.

A total of 1,700 male and female students and 120 of their family members attended these workshops.

These educational workshops were held with the aim of empowering children and their families in team building, team support, anger management, emotion regulation, empathy, happiness, self-care, and environmental care.

During these training programs, facilitators, and members of the IRCS teams, improved their technical skills in emergency preparedness, including providing Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) to children, adolescents, and families during crises, including natural hazards.

MT/MG