TEHRAN – Education Minister Alireza Kazemi has announced that social harm prevention programs will be implemented in 100 areas nationwide this year, up from 32 areas the previous year.

These include a wide range of programs such as recreation, leisure, sport, and religious activities, IRNA quoted Kazemi as saying.

The official went on to say that the implementation of these programs requires the cooperation of different organizations, including deputy ministers of education, student organizations, the student union, the Iranian Red Crescent Society, and the anti-narcotics headquarters.

Harm reduction programs mainly focus on two sectors, including suicide and addiction, the official added.

In 2016, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei emphasized the need to focus on dealing with five major social harms.

He named addiction and narcotics, slum-dwelling, divorce, moral corruption, and crisis-prone areas as the main sources of social harm, calling on authorities to put reducing social harm atop the agenda.

After focusing on this issue, the Leader ordered the formation of the Social Affairs Organization in December 2017.

The Organization is under the supervision of the Ministry of Interior, responsible for promoting health, capital, satisfaction, vitality, social justice, order, and a sense of security, as well as preventing, managing, controlling, reducing, and eliminating social problems and harms.

National social work day

The ministry of health commemorated the 40th national social work day on Wednesday, highlighting intersectoral collaboration to support children within the health system.

Addressing the event, Zeinab Nasiri, an official with the health ministry, highlighted the importance of boosting collaborations with other governmental bodies and organizations, such as the ministries of education and labor, saying that collective participation will contribute to the realization of our shared responsibility, which is addressing the complicated issues that individuals and society are dealing with.

The official went on to say that children are the most vulnerable and voiceless group in society; their voices are often unheard as adults talk on their behalf. Therefore, any joint action must prioritize promoting children’s involvement, as they are one of the primary stakeholders and future builders of the country.

Referring to the social workers, the official said social workers connect the health system with target groups. Their most important role is to facilitate community solidarity. Addressing their challenges and promoting their status will help improve the services offered to target groups.

World Social Work Day 2025 was held on March 18 under the theme of ‘Strengthening Intergenerational Solidarity for Enduring Wellbeing’. The theme emphasised the importance of caring and respecting across generations to build strong societies, sustain the environment, and share wisdom for a better future.

Intergenerational care and connections are essential to everybody’s wellbeing as well as fostering functional economies and societies; yet they are too often overlooked or ignored by governments and policymakers. Through this theme, the social work profession recognised the need for societies to strengthen and more actively support respectful intergenerational solidarity for the enduring wellbeing of all.

MT/MG