Zahedan University of Medical Sciences

Report from: Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Vice Chancellery for Health
Published on: 26 December 2020

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a focus on scaling up cross-border cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to control the coronavirus pandemic has been drafted by Iran"s Ministry of Health.

The global coronavirus epidemic is not limited to the geographical borders of a country, and the fight against this epidemic, in addition to individual and organizational dimensions, also has national and international aspects.

Speaking at a joint videoconference meeting of officials from the Ministry of Health of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan, Dr. Seyyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, Vice Chancellor for Health at Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, mentioned  that Islamic Republic of Iran has been signatory to the implementing of International Health Regulations  (IHR)  since 2012.

In order to implement IHR, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences has boosted the preventive measures by strengthening infrastructure and providing manpower necessary to provide healthcare and preventive  services for in-coming and Pakistan-bound passengers at Mirjaveh Border Health Surveillance Post.

Please click the following link for the details:
Zahedan University of Medical Sciences Response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak at Iran-Pakistan Border Crossing

Presenting a report on the measures taken at this Border Health Surveillance Post, he said: "Since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, more than 10,470 passengers and 24,603 transit truck drivers have been examined for coronavirus disease at the official Mirjavah border crossing.  All the travelers have been issued with a COVID 19 health certificate."

According to Dr. Tabatabaei, all passengers entering this border terminal receive oral polio vaccine according to the instructions from Iran"s Ministry of Health and they get screened for 14 syndromes that are included in the Syndromic Surveillance System of the Ministry of Health.

He added: implementation of disinfection operations of transit area surfaces and vehicles and distribution of educational materials and production of educational media in English and Urdu languages are among other preventive measures undertaken by Zahedan University of Medical Sciences.

 In this videoconference meeting that was held on Wednesday 23/12/2020, representatives of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including authorities from  Center for Communicable Diseases Management, the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Zahedan University of Medical Sciences. Dr. Samra Mazhar, Deputy Director General of Health of the Ministry of Health of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Dr. Irfan Tahir, Director of the Central Health Establishment of Pakistan and Dr. Mohammad Salman,  Focal Point of International Health Regulations (IHR), Pakistan Ministry of Health were present and the details of the draft MoU  was discussed.

Emphasis  mandatory testing of in-bound and out-bound travelers in a time period of less than 96 hours of departure, on strengthening the coronavirus disease surveillance on both sides of the border, establishing the necessary laboratory infrastructure for rapid diagnosis of suspected cases, especially the use of rapid diagnostic tests, and providing facilities to isolate positive COVID 19 cases identified at official border crossings, were part of main points agreed upon.

It should be noted that at this meeting, Dr. Seyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, Vice Chancellor for Health of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, was appointed and introduced by the Iran"s Ministry of Health and Medical Education as the focal point for the implementation of the MoU.

Copyright © 2020 Zahedan University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved. Date updated: 26/12/2020
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