TEHRAN – Health Minister Bahram Einollahi has announced the country’s readiness to foster cooperation with the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.

On the sidelines of the international conference on quality and safety in healthcare in Doha which was held from February 21 – 25, Einollahi held a meeting with Hanan Balkhi, the newly appointed WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, the health ministry’s website reported.

During the meeting, Balkhi lauded the health ministry for remarkable achievements and commendable progress.

She went on to say, “I am trying to focus on three issues in the Eastern Mediterranean region: empowering human resources in the field of health, improving self-sufficiency in the production of medicine and medical equipment, and fighting against narcotics and treating addicts.”

She further noted that it's essential to hold talks with the member states to solve the problems of the Eastern Mediterranean region.

In the end, she expressed hope to travel to Iran to learn more about the implementation of the Family Physician Program in Iran.

Einollahi, for his part, referred to the country’s achievements in the field of the health system, saying, “The Family Physician Program is a preventive health program that is being implemented in 195 cities of the country.”

In addition to delivering a speech at the forum, Einollahi held a meeting with his Qatari counterpart Hanan Mohammad Al-Kuwari.

Exchanging medical science professors to improve public health and medical knowledge, and facilitating health tourism as one of the other areas of strengthening the relations between the two countries were stressed by Al-Kuwari.

Einollahi, for his part, underscored the need for regional cooperation to address health concerns. “We can help to protect many countries in the region from infectious diseases."

Intl. congress on family health

Iran will host an international congress on family health from March 5 to 6 with a focus on the significant role of mothers in the family's wellbeing.

In this regard, health programs to promote mothers’ health are planned to increase in the next Iranian calendar year, starting on March 21, ISNA quoted Hossein Farshidi, an official with the Health Ministry, as saying.

Experts from the World Health Organization and some of the health ministers of regional countries are expected to participate in the event, Farshidi noted.

MT/MG