Zahedan University of Medical Sciences

Report from: ZAUMS Public Relations & International Affairs Office
Published on: 19 February 2022

The World Health Organization (WHO) country office website report

 
The representative of World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussain paid a two-day visit in 1st and 2nd of February 2022, to Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, in Zahedan, southeast of Iran. On the first day of his visit, after holding meeting with board of executives in Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, the representative of the World Health Organization in Iran also visited the project under construction of Insectarium of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, which is planned to become the national and regional hub of entomological surveillance and studies. He also visited the process of providing dialysis and ICU services to both Iranian and non-Iranian patients at Khatam al-Anbia Hospital trauma center in Zahedan.

In the second day of his trip to Zahedan, the representative of the World Health Organization in Iran, Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussain visited the Alghadir Refugee Camp in Zahedan, and Ammar Yaser Urban Health Center and Delivery Facility and SERAJ Community-Based Mental Health Clinic in Shirabad neighborhood located in outskirts of Zahedan. This visit was concluded with a joint meeting chaired by the Chairman of the Health, Treatment Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of Iran, Dr. Hussian Ali Shahiriari, and attended by Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussain, Dr. Hashemi Shahri, Chancellor of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences and his Vice Chancellor for Health Dr. Seyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, as well as Dr. Kamran Kordi, Chancellor of Iranshahr University of Medical Sciences, Dr. Mahdi Afshari, Vice Chancellor of Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Dr. Mansour Saeedi, Director General of the provincial Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs (BAFIA) , and Dr. Mansour Ranjbar, Lead for Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health at the WHO country office.

Dr. Syed Jaffar Hossein"s visit to Sistan and Baluchestan aimed to review the province"s unused capacities in the field of public health services and emergency management and to achieve more regional cooperation strategies with the support of World Health Organization.

The Chairman of the Iranian Parliament Commission on Health and Treatment in the meeting with Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussein, the representative of the WHO in Iran, referring to the oppressive sanctions of global arrogance against the Iranian nation, said: " The brave and independent nation of Iran, despite all cowardly pressures, continues to stand up to the US extravagance."

Dr. Hossein Ali Shahriari continued: "Despite the difficult conditions caused by cruel sanctions imposed by enemies , which were intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Islamic Republic of Iran has spent more than 11,500 billion Rials [equivalent to $US 60 million] for just one of medications used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients."

Emphasizing on the fact that the country has always stood by the Afghan nation, he continued by saying that: "The Iranian nation and government always adhere to humanitarian principles when it comes to refugees; we have been hosting the Afghan refugees for more than 40 years with dignity and respect. The close relations and proximity between the neighboring countries, especially religious commonalities, cultural interests have caused our people to have many contacts with people living in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

The head of the Health Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly said: "It is natural that decades of war and insecurity in Afghanistan also has affected health status of people, and now one of the serious concerns of our health system, especially in the border areas, is to deal with public health problems in foreign refugees, especially multi-drug resistant tuberculosis."

He continued: "In spite all of difficulties and obstacles; we have proudly succeeded in eliminating the local transmission of communicable diseases such as polio, measles and rubella."
In this meeting, Dr. Shahriari referring to the ICERP project, acknowledged the assistance of the World Health Organization to Iran in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and said: "I appreciate and thank the assistance of the World Health Organization to the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially Sistan and Baluchestan Province, although this assistance compared with the costs incurred by the health system of the country was insignificant".

The representative of the World Health Organization in Iran supports the idea of establishing a Rapid Response Emergency Stock Warehouse in Zahedan

WHO Representative in Iran, announcing support for the proposed project of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences to set up, in cooperation with the World Health Organization, a regional Rapid Response Emergency Stock Warehouse to be used in response to public health emergencies in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, said: This center will be able to provide pharmaceutical items, equipment, diagnostic kits and to keep them in proper condition to be quickly distributed in the area when needed".

Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussein in the meeting with the board of executive members of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences said: "Currently, a similar center is operating in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates with the support of the World Health Organization, which provided assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic to more than one hundred countries worldwide."

He expressed his hope that after receiving the proposal for establishing this center by Zahedan University of Medical Sciences and obtaining the approval of the relevant authorities, the representative of the World Health Organization will cooperate to kick off the project.

The representative of the World Health Organization in Iran said: "During this trip, I also visited the Alghadir Refugee Camp in Zahedan, which fortunately the conditions of the camp and the services provided were acceptable."

In another part of his speech, Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussein thanked the Islamic Republic of Iran and the country"s health system and said: "Afghan immigrants have been using mostly free health services in Iran and Sistan and Baluchestan Province for many years and the World Health Organization agrees to provide continuous international aid and to provide medical equipment and medical items are needed from the available resources to the health sector of this province, and it will work to seek support from other agencies and international bodies".

Dr. Syed Jaffar Hussein noted the role of the World Health Organization in coordinating activities related to the health sector among the relevant UN agencies in the Islamic Republic of Iran and said: Coordinating the activities of institutions such as the United Nations Children"s Fund (UNICEF) , the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in the field of health is the responsibility of the World Health Organization and this agency will use its leverage to support the health system of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in providing services to the refugees and relevant host communities."

Providing health services simultaneously to the Iranian population and non-Iranian citizens

Chancellor of ZAUMS Presentation at the meeting

Dr. Seyed Mohammad Hashemi Shahri, in the meeting with the representative of the World Health Organization, said: "If you visit rural health houses, urban health centers and comprehensive centers of urban and rural health services in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, you will see that maternal and child health services, vaccination, tuberculosis, malaria treatment services are provided equally and free of charge, to the Iranian population and non-Iranian immigrants."

He continued: "One of the successful experiences of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences in facilitating the access of non-Iranian citizens to health services was the establishment of a maternity facility on the outskirts of Zahedan, which you visited today."

The Chancellor of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences continued: "In the early years of the war in Afghanistan, international charities provided part of the health expenses of non-Iranians. After the end of the occupation of Afghanistan by the former Soviet Union, these organizations left the province." However, the presence and movement of Afghan citizens practically continues and the health expenses of these people are generally incurred by the health care system of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

Dr. Hashemi praised the support of the World Health Organization for the health system of the country and the province and said: " In the latest support as part of the ICERP project, the Iran"s Ministry of Health provided us with a CT scan machine in Khash Imam Khomeini Hospital, a visual laryngoscope at Khatam al-Anbia Hospital in Zahedan, an ultrasound machine, a Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (CRRT) machine and a laryngoscope machine Ali Ibn Abitaleb (AS) Hospital, as well as two real-time PCR machines and three automatic RNA extraction devices, and we hope that this assistance will continue.

He pointed to the honor of hosting a large number of Pakistani pilgrims during the Arbaeen and said: "In 2009 and before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 80,000 Pakistani, Afghan and Indian pilgrims passed through the Mirjavah border crossing in compliance with International Health Regulations (IHR)." They entered the province and headed to the holy cities of Mashhad, Qom and Iraq, and returned to their country from the same route. During this period, all public health services along with treatment and emergency medical services were provided to these respected pilgrims, the sweetest of which was the birth of a number of babies of these respected pilgrims in a hospital in Zahedan."

Dr. Hashemi, pointing out that the establishment of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences has been the cornerstone of the province"s health development, said: "Before the establishment of the university, the number of hospitals in Sistan and Baluchestan was 8, and now the number of hospitals in the province has reached 29. Considering the ongoing projects, this number will pass 32 hospitals in near future."

According to Dr. Hashemi, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences is a very good option for the development of regional activities of international organizations due to its strategic location, human resources, and its capacity in conducting scientific research activities.

At the end of the meeting, the following areas were agreed upon for follow up and planning:

1. Due to the relatively long distance between Sistan and Baluchestan Province and other population centers of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the accident-prone nature of this province, the proposal of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences to set up a support center for rapid response teams for regional health crises, it was suggested that the initial technical proposal for the establishment of this center, after being prepared by Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, will be sent to the World Health Organization country office in Iran and to the Iran"s Ministry of Health to review the opportunities for cooperation. The representative of the World Health Organization in Iran, agreed that after and receiving the approval from Iran"s Ministry of Health, will use the capacity of international institutions to collaborate in establishment and equipping a suitable place for storing pharmaceutical items, equipment, diagnostic kits and other related items to be distributed in due time during health emergencies in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, as well as southeast of the country and in the regional public health emergencies.

2. It was noted that despite significant improvements in the health indicators of the province, the health situation in the province is still far from the national average. It was suggested that the representative office of the World Health Organization in coordination with the Ministry of Health of the Islamic Republic of Iran strive to improve the province"s health infrastructure and reduce inequality in the population of the province . Considering the role of the World Health Organization in coordinating health-related activities among relevant United Nations agencies in the Islamic Republic of Iran, such as the United Nations Children"s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Food Program (WFP), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), it was decided that this agency will use its leverage to support the strengthening of the health system of Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

3. As a result of the presence of a significant number of Afghan nationals in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, which has increased even more in recent months, and due to the high cost of health care for these people, which is generally incurred by 3 universities of medical sciences in Iranshahr, Zabol and Zahedan, it was suggested that the representative of the World Health Organization in Iran will mobilize resources to compensate for part of the medical expenses as well as the development of the physical infrastructure required to provide these services for refugee population.

4. In order to share global experiences in the management and treatment of COVID-19 cases with Sistan and Baluchestan universities of medical sciences, it was suggested that the representative of the World Health Organization in Iran will organize joint training courses held by international specialists for physicians and staff of these universities.

 
5. A Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) Action Plan Guidance COVID-19 Preparedness and Response international training course has been considered to be held with the cooperation of the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the near future. This training course encompasses the preparation of the national program and the university action plan for education and behavior modification, with a focus on raising awareness and attracting the cooperation of the community with regard to controlling COVID-19. It was recommended that a representative of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences will be nominated to participate in this training course with the support of the representative of the World Health Organization.

6. Due to the high incidence of road traffic accidents and human casualties caused by these accidents, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences is tasked with developing a proposal for cooperation between the World Health Organization, Sistan and Baluchestan Governor"s Office and the province"s medical universities to address this issue.

7. Considering the provision of dialysis services to Iranian and non-Iranian patients, it was suggested that after presenting the need of the province"s medical universities for new dialysis machines, the issue of providing part of these needs will be pursued by the representative of the World Health Organization in Iran.

8. Due to the imminent launch of the Insectarium at Zahedan University of Medical Sciences and the need to strengthen entomological surveillance for vectors of dengue fever (Aedes mosquitoes) and malaria (Anopheles mosquitoes), the members of the meeting agreed on expediting the mobilization of the necessary resources to complete, and equip the project and to establish peripheral entomological surveillance across the province.

9. Given Iran"s long common border with Afghanistan and Pakistan and the high volume of population movement on both sides of the border, and the need to strengthen the border surveillance system with emphasis on International Health Regulations (IHR), the members agreed to pursue the necessary resources to complete the under-construction isolation unit in Mile 72 in Mirjaveh-Pakistan border crossing and also to strengthen the provision of IHR services in Al-Ghadir Zahedan Refugee Camp.

Copyright © 2022 Zahedan University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved. Date updated: 19/02/2022
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