Head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met and held talks with Iranian Health Minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi on Saturday in Astana, on the sidelines of the Global Conference on Primary Health Care, which marks the 40th anniversary of the Declaration of Alma-Ata. The Declaration of Alma-Ata formed the foundation for the last 40 years of global primary healthcare efforts, according to Astanatimes.
During the meeting, the WHO director-general maintained that regional and domestic challenges have always prevented people from gaining access to healthcare, especially in countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Syria.
He voiced concern over the outbreak of cholera in Yemen, saying about one million people in the war-torn country have been infected by cholera.
He said necessary coordination will be made to better organize the upcoming regional ministerial meeting of health ministers in Tehran, thanking Iran for its efforts and the good progress it has made in the health sector.
For his part, the Iranian minister invited the WHO director-general to visit Iran and take a look at how the country's healthcare system operates.
Other issues such as communicable diseases in the region and Iran's cooperation with regional countries to tackle them were also discussed at the meeting.