Director-General of World Health Organization Margaret Chan is visiting Iran on July 22-23.
“This is the first visit to Iran by a senior official from the WHO in the past 15 years,” said deputy health minister Mohsen Asadi Lari, IRNA reported.
The visit follows an invitation by Health Minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi and aims to assess the Health Reform Plan launched in May 2014, and the latest advancements in healthcare management and coverage.
Noting that a report on the health reforms is to be presented to Chan, Lari said the WHO chief would evaluate Iran’s political and technical commitments regarding public health coverage and see if the reform plan can be a model for other nations.
Additionally, the National Document in Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) will be unveiled in her presence.
During her two-day visit, Chan will evaluate healthcare services across the country, particularly in villages, and towns with less than 50,000 inhabitants, and suburban areas, which are targeted to showcase Iran as a successful model in healthcare in the region. Educational and research capacities in medical technology and vaccine and antibiotics production, will also be reviewed.
Establishing a regional and interregional learning center under the auspices of the Health Ministry in one of the country’s free trade zones and holding meetings with the health minister, Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, first Vice-President Es’haq Jahangiri, and officials from the Supreme Council of Health and Food Security, are also on the agenda.
