TEHRAN –Health Minister Bahram Einollahi has announced that hospitals across the country will be equipped with 9,000 new beds in the current Iranian calendar year that started on March 20.

A total of 16,000 hospital beds were added to the health system in the last two years, IRNA quoted Einollahi as saying.

He made the remarks in Tehran on Monday in a meeting with Hanan Hassan Balkhi, the World Health Organization’s director for the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office.

Einollahi also announced the implementation of 15,000 development projects by the end of the current year.

Elaborating on the steps taken to improve the country’s health system, the official said 2,800 physicians and 11,000 dentists were dispatched to deprived areas last year.

Other initiatives include providing coverage for basic medicines through insurance, reducing waiting time for cochlear implantation to zero, expanding organ transplantation services such as liver and kidney transplants, and conducting diabetes and blood pressure screening for 46 million people.

The health minister highlighted that the family health program has been expanded, saying that the program is currently being implemented in 195 cities.

“Family-oriented health programs prioritize prevention and we hope to share experiences in this regard with other countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region,” Einollahi further noted.

Referring to some 18,000 health houses in the country, he expressed willingness to share experiences in education, health tourism, curbing infectious illnesses with the member states and to export medicine and medical equipment to the countries in this region.

Moreover, the health minister proposed the establishment of a new organization to collectively address regional states’ problems and crises such as floods, earthquakes, poverty, and the eradication of infectious diseases like malaria.

Balkhi, for her part, lauded Iran’s great achievements in health and medical fields saying it is essential to transfer Iran’s knowledge and experiences, particularly in preventing contagious diseases to other countries.

She also underscored the importance of laying the ground to promote cooperation among the 22 member states of EMRO.

Balkhi is on a four-day visit to the provinces of Isfahan and Tehran to assess the country’s healthcare system’s capabilities and progress.

She started the travel on Saturday, April 13, visiting Isfahan University of Medical Sciences as well as several healthcare centers and infrastructures in the province

Her visit includes holding meetings with health authorities, and the WHO representative to the country, participating in a G5 (the group of four countries – Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan – plus the World Health Organization) meeting, and non-communicable disease campaign report meeting, and also paying a visit to the Iran House of Innovation and Technology (iHiT) as well as some health and treatment centers.

MT/MG