TEHRAN – Following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, many good improvements have been made in different fields, especially in the healthcare system, which has experienced notable growth both in quantity and quality.

Obtaining the first rank in pharmaceutical production in the region, producing 99 percent of needed drugs including biotech drugs for the domestic market, self-sufficiency in the production of vaccines, eradication of polio and other contagious diseases, and vaccination coverage from 30 to 100 percent are among scientific achievements in the field of medicine, which can be referred to as medical revolution.

Moreover, increase in the number of hospitals and medical centers; growth in the number of physicians, health specialists, and universities of medical sciences; improvement in medical equipment, and pharmaceutical products; increase in life expectancy, and reduce in mortality rate among mothers and infants, are other parts of the Islamic Revolution’s achievements in health and medical field.

Life expectancy

According to the report of the United Nations Development Program, the life expectancy index at birth increased from 49.5 years in 1960 to 51.5 years in 1978. However, the report of the World Bank shows that after the Islamic revolution, the Iranians’ total life expectancy has increased by 25 years reaching more than 76 years now.

Advancements in medical sciences and the healthcare system in Iran have hugely decreased the number of deaths caused by infectious diseases. Childbirth problems have also decreased in the country.

Increased access to improved health services in Iran has brought about a change in the pattern and occurrence of diseases which has by itself affected the number of deaths by infectious illnesses.

According to statistics, the raw mortality index in Iran from 13 deaths per 1000 births during 1970-1978 has decreased to five people now. Also, the mortality rate reduction among infants in the last four decades has been significant, it has lowered from 13,000 to 18 deaths currently.

Hospitals and medical centers

Now, the coverage of primary health care for rural and urban populations is 100 percent. And the goal of establishing a medical-treatment network system with over 18,000 health houses and 10,000 health centers, as a global model, has been fulfilled.

The distribution of hospitals and health services in different parts of the country has been done in line with health justice. Only 37 percent of cities in 1978 had hospitals, while the figure has now reached more than 95 percent of the cities.

Knowledge-based companies manufacturing medications

Before the Islamic revolution, there were some 50 companies manufacturing medical equipment in the country. The raw materials were exported to be assembled in Iran. Nonetheless, these companies were only able to supply three percent of the country's needs.

Presently, approximately 600 medical equipment companies are active.

Now, around 99 percent of the medicine supplied to the domestic market is produced by Iranian companies. Medical equipment manufacturers in the country produce and supply over 10,000 types of medical equipment to domestic and foreign markets. Now, various pieces of laboratory equipment are manufactured at prices much lower than the same foreign products.

Iranian knowledge-based companies have succeeded in producing recombinant drugs which are mainly used for treating hard-to-treat diseases such as cancers, MS, hemophilia, and viral diseases.

Developing a system based on artificial intelligence (AI) that can detect breast cancer with 94 percent accuracy, manufacturing new medicines for pulmonary hypertension, coagulation disorders, chemotherapy drugs, and production of anti-cancer drugs titled SinaDoxosome, used in all types of abdominal cancer, Levofloxacin, used for the treatment of infectious diseases, Paclitaxel, to treat various lungs, and skin, ovarian and breast cancers, Doxorubicin, human papillomavirus (HPV) and ‘ibrutinib’, which is used to treat various blood cancers, have placed Iran among the main producers of medications in the world.

Medications such as "Cetrorlix Acetate", used for the treatment of infertility, drugs for MS patients (called Synvox), special patients (called Interferon Beta, Gamma, and Alpha), and hepatitis C patients (called pegylated interferon) are other examples of the broad efforts of Iranian researchers.

Medical equipment worth around $20 million is exported to more than 60 countries annually, according to Iran’s Union of Medical Equipment Manufacturers and Exporters.

More than 70 percent of medical equipment and 100 percent of normal hospital beds are domestically made.

Also, over 95 percent of specific ICU and CCU beds and more than 85 percent of operating room medical equipment such as anesthesia machines and other equipment are manufactured with cutting-edge technology in the country.

Healthcare initiatives

The first phase of the campaign started in November 2023 aiming to reduce deaths caused by non-communicable diseases.

More than 44 million people have so far taken part in the national health campaign aiming to be screened for high blood pressure and diabetes.

Out of the screened people, 10 million were identified with probable hypertension, and 3 million were identified with probable diabetes.

The second phase of the national campaign on promoting a healthy diet focusing on the benefits of iodized salt and dairy products commenced nationwide on January 21.

Since diabetes and high blood pressure, as the main causes of non-communicable diseases are directly affected by one’s diet, the second phase of the national health campaign focuses on healthy diets.

The third phase of the campaign will prioritize oral and dental health, communicable and non-communicable diseases. It will also focus on training and promoting health, mental health, workplace health, and improving nutrition for the population under 18 years of age.

Conducting health research programs in accordance with the Family Physician Program will be able to clarify why certain diseases, namely cancer, or why specific environmental health problems are more common in one region of the country than others, the minister explained.

By implementing the Family Physician Program, national decision-makers, and medical authorities will be provided with the information needed for effective health management, he pointed out.

“Therefore, in the next two years, we must take steps toward the implementation of the Family Physician Program.”

The Family Physician Program was started in 2005, which targeted almost 25,000,000 citizens residing in rural areas, and was piloted in two provinces of Fars and Mazandaran.

Periodic examinations and monitoring of people's health status, easy and round-the-clock access to basic services and primary care, and frequent visits to doctors are the characteristics of a family physician.

Based on the Family Physician Program, a physician and a midwife offer services in rural areas, every 3,300 villagers have a physician and there is a midwife per 5,200 people in villages.

The implementation of the family physician program in urban areas began in June 2012 in Fars and Mazandaran provinces. Reducing out-of-pocket payments has been an important effect and benefit of the urban family physician program. A total of 20,263,501 persons have been covered by the Family Physician Program, which constitutes 40 percent of the target population in cities.