Approval of Health Minister's Resignation; Budget and Planning Deputy Becomes Acting Minister

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, after agreeing to the resignation of Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi from the Ministry of Health, appointed Saeed Namaki as the acting head of the ministry. He is the social deputy of the Organization for Budget and Planning. Mr. Qazizadeh Hashemi had submitted his resignation to Rouhani in a letter due to the reduction of the health budget in the 1398 budget. The news of his resignation being accepted by the President comes as Mahmoud Vaezi, Rouhani's chief of staff, confirmed on Wednesday the 'disagreement' between the former health minister and the government regarding the health ministry's budget and reported Rouhani's 'resistance' to accepting his resignation. The chief of staff stated that 'the President's effort is to retain the health minister' and confirmed that the health plan and the management of the health ministry 'require significant funding,' but due to 'economic warfare and sanctions, there are many limitations in closing the budget of the Organization for Budget and Planning.' Previously, several members of parliament criticized the Organization for Budget and Planning for how it determined the health ministry's allocations, evaluating Qazizadeh Hashemi's resignation in this context. According to reports, Hassan Rouhani today issued a decree agreeing to the resignation of Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi and appreciating his 'services and efforts' in the eleventh and twelfth governments, 'especially in the implementation and advancement of the health transformation plan,' appointing Saeed Namaki as the acting head of the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education. Mr. Namaki holds a PhD in medical immunology and is a faculty member of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. He served as the health deputy of the health minister nearly 28 years ago. He was previously the deputy for scientific, cultural, and social affairs of the Organization for Budget and Planning and has a history of being the president of Kashan University from 1987 to 1990, as well as serving as the deputy for social affairs of the Management Organization from 2015 to 2017. After his appointment as acting health minister, Namaki stated in an interview with IRNA, 'We did not stop the health transformation train at any station; we repaired it while in motion.' According to him, 'This plan does not belong to the Ministry of Health or Dr. Hashemi; it pertains to the entire government of Mr. Rouhani and the government of prudence and hope, and we particularly support this plan regarding the reduction of crippling costs.' The social deputy of the Organization for Budget and Planning also mentioned that the Ministry of Health 'has extensive activities that require diverse resources, but the country's asset basket is also limited, and the Organization for Budget and Planning must allocate budgets to all sectors.' He added that the Organization for Budget and Planning 'has tried to allocate the maximum resources needed for the Ministry of Health within its capacity.' Namaki stated that 'the country has entered a full-scale economic war with the enemy' and also said, 'Next year, we must make the utmost savings in expenditures. Some agencies may have complaints, but we have no choice but to implement a contractionary method in budgeting.' Ali Nobakht Haghighi, a member of the Health and Treatment Commission of the parliament, also stated regarding the budget allocated to the Ministry of Health that 'from a technical standpoint, the budget for the Ministry of Health has been appropriately determined, and no shortages are felt in this regard.' He said, 'The budget for the Ministry of Health has increased by at least 10 percent compared to last year; the Ministry of Health does not comply with the law regarding budget consumption, and the minister's resignation issue is also a retreat forward.' Nobakht added that 'because the law is not observed in the Ministry of Health, their spending increases. Today is not the season for retreating. The health minister must be there and implement what they have cooked.' The health transformation plan, which began on May 5, 2014, has three approaches: financial protection for the people, creating equity in access to health services, and improving the quality of services. However, the Research Center of the Parliament, in a report in 2017, criticized the health transformation plan, pointing to the 'pressure on' the Social Security Organization and reported that the health insurance policies were not health-oriented. Previously, Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, the health minister during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, was also dismissed following criticism of the allocation of currency to the drug sector, stating that the currency for this sector was spent on importing cosmetics and other items. Mr. Ahmadinejad also did not mention Ms. Dastjerdi's name in his decree appointing the acting head of the Ministry of Health. She was the first female minister in the history of the Islamic Republic.