TEHRAN - Around 400,000 health volunteers are active in the country, acting as the link between the health system and different strata of the society, Hassan Farshidi, an official with the Health Ministry, has said.

Once trained and empowered, health volunteers from communities, organizations, tribes, and foreign nationals play a central role in promoting health by people, ISNA quoted Farshidi as saying.

He made the remarks in a ceremony in Tehran on Tuesday to mark December 5, International Volunteer Day, which was held this year with the theme of ‘the power of collective action: if everyone did’.

Farshidi went on to say that more than 9 million people have participated in the national health campaign, i.e. diabetes and blood pressure screening.

According to preliminary estimates, 1.7 million out of 9 million people have high blood pressure and one percent of them have diabetes.

Referring to the ‘comprehensive system of social participation’ which was introduced this summer, he said the promotion of health mainly highlights the rights of citizens and social justice. By people-oriented participatory plans, it is tried to prevent the dominance of a certain group with local influence or the exclusion of some classes from services and facilities.

Health promotion programs aim to engage individuals and communities and promote a healthy lifestyle, prevention, and timely response.

It is a three-pronged plan. The first part involves ‘individual and family’, which refers to individual and family self-care and management. More than three million family ambassadors are active in this field.

The second part is the ‘neighborhood’ that promotes the health and the participation of 400,000 health volunteers.

The third part refers to the workplace and organization that practices a self-care approach at work.

International Volunteer Day

Celebrated annually on December 5, the International Volunteer Day theme this year is ‘the power of collective action: if everyone did’.

If everyone volunteered, the world would be a better place; December 5 is an occasion to pay tribute to volunteers worldwide and to recognize the value of volunteerism in advancing peace and development.

It started as an international observance mandated by the United Nations General Assembly in 1985.

It is viewed as a unique chance for volunteers and organizations to celebrate their efforts, share their values, and promote their work among their communities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), United Nations agencies, government authorities, and the private sector.

Apart from mobilizing thousands of volunteers every year, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program contributes to peace and development by advocating for the recognition of volunteers and working with partners to integrate volunteerism into development programming.

Imagine more than eight billion of us volunteering. Limitless possibilities for sustainable development – food and education for everyone, a clean environment and good health, inclusive and peaceful societies, and more.

Volunteerism is an enormous renewable resource for social, economic, and environmental problem-solving throughout the world.

As the world faces mounting challenges, volunteers are often the first to help. Volunteers are at the fore in crises and emergencies, often in very testing and dire situations.

MT/MG