Iran Weighs New Health Plans for Refugees

Date: 02 June 2019 - 21:47

News ID: ۶۶۶۶۶

TEHRAN (IFP) -- Iran’s Health Ministry and the Immigrants Department of the country’s Interior Ministry have signed a memorandum of understanding on the assessment and promotion of the health of refugees and foreign immigrants, with a focus on fight against tuberculosis, AIDS, and Malaria.
An official with the Health Ministry has told Mehr News Agency that this project, which is going to be carried out to contain tuberculosis, is in line with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s commitments in the health domain.
Muhammad Mahdi Gouya also noted that this project is part of the implementation of a trilateral cooperation with Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"The health ministries of these countries and regional offices of the United Nations, as well as the World Health Organization and the International Monetary Fund would financially and technically support this initiative to combat tuberculosis, AIDS and Malaria in a three-year process.”
"In the first year, it will be restricted to diagnosis of tuberculosis among foreign nationals and immigrants residing in Khorasan Razavi, Kerman and Yazd provinces and then the treatment of the patients will be started. But in the years to come, with the attraction of domestic and international donations, more and more provinces will be covered (including Sistan and Baluchestan, Qom and Tehran),” underlined Gouya.
He also said that the treatment of patients, who return to their country during the course of treatment, will be followed up and persisted. Therefore, the treatment of this group of patients would not be stopped. If these patients’ treatment course would be stopped, the treatment may fail and it may result in drug resistance and even death.