📌 Tehran, IRNA – Ali Jafarian, a senior advisor to Iran’s health minister, has called for health to be kept separate from political disputes, stressing that it serves as a bridge for peace and stability and is part of the shared future of all nations.
Jafarian made the remarks at the 73rd session of the World Health Organization’s Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean (RC73), held in Cairo from October 13 to 15.
Addressing the impact of war and sanctions on Iran’s health system, Jafarian said the war imposed on Iran by the United States and Israel over the past 15 months damaged more than 87 hospitals and clinics, 230 primary health care centers, 25 pharmaceutical factories, and 70 ambulances.
He warned that the intensification of US unilateral coercive measures had further disrupted the supply of medicines, vaccines, pharmaceutical raw materials, and medical equipment to Iran, calling for an end to what he described as inhumane measures.
The official also called for stronger regional cooperation in emergency response, local production of essential health products, technology transfer, knowledge sharing, and the development of health information systems.
He said countries’ shared commitment should help protect essential health services, reduce inequalities, and strengthen regional preparedness for health emergencies.
At the opening ceremony of the session, Professor Amir Ali Hamidieh of Iran received the Kuwait Government Award in the field of cancer control.
The three-day session is being held at the WHO’s Regional Office in Cairo under the theme “Together for a Healthier Future: Action, Access and Equity,” with health ministers and high-level delegations from 22 countries and territories in attendance.
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