Health Minister: 850,000 People in the Suburbs of Tehran Have No Hospitals

Hassan Hashemi, Iran's Minister of Health, stated on Saturday, February 20, that "850,000 people living near the capital do not have a single hospital." According to Fars News Agency, he continued, "The people in the counties surrounding Tehran, most of whom are hardworking and honorable laborers struggling with numerous economic problems, are unfortunately deprived of the most basic medical facilities." Mr. Hashemi explained, "In the county of Qarchak, with a population of 300,000, and in the county of Pishva, with a population of 100,000, there is not even a single hospital bed, and people have to travel via an unsafe road to Tehran to access the most basic medical services." He added, "In the county of Varamin, which has a population of 450,000, there are only 120 beds, which are located in an unsuitable building constructed 35 years ago due to a lack of physical space." The Health Minister also referred to the medical situation in the counties of Baharestan, Robat Karim, and Parand, stating, "These counties have conditions similar to those of Qarchak and Varamin, and only in Robat Karim is there a 100-bed hospital that does not meet the needs of the local population." Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi added, "Today, those who have held significant responsibilities in the Ministry of Health or have been health policymakers over the past 30 years must answer why these issues exist." On December 20, Hashemi also mentioned that currently, 17 hospitals across Iran are closed and unused due to a lack of staff, equipment, and budget allocations, and 35 hospitals remain unfinished. The newspaper Shahrvand reported on January 1 that six years ago, the population of informal settlers was 9 million, but it has now reached 11 million. This newspaper also reported that "Nariman Mostafaei, the director of the Office for Empowerment and Organization of Informal Settlements, announced the existence of 11 million informal settlers in Iran, and a month ago, Ali Akbar Siari, the Deputy Minister of Health, mentioned that 10 million and 100 thousand informal settlers would be covered in the second phase of the Health Transformation Plan."