TEHRAN – With support from benefactors, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has enhanced health services for Afghans at its branch in Nimruz province, Afghanistan.

The development of charitable partnerships serves as a symbol of empathy, social responsibility, and the expansion of humanitarian cooperation, the IRCS website quoted Hamid-Reza Dehqan, an official with the IRCS, as saying.

Besides offering health services, the IRCS health facility plays an important role in reinforcing human ties, developing health-oriented cooperation, and alleviating human suffering, he added.

Benefactors’ contributions will help improve the quality of medical and diagnostic services, reflecting local community trust and support for the IRCS humanitarian measures.

As part of humanitarian initiatives, the benefactors have donated an advanced color ultrasound system, worth 500,00 Afghanis, to the IRCS medical facility in Nimruz province. It will help enhance the center’s diagnostic capabilities and provide more accurate, faster services to patients.

Referring to the historical, cultural relationships between the two countries, Dehqan said any medical services provided to the people in this center are not merely a health measure but a manifestation of solidarity, compassion, and shared responsibility of the two nations in safeguarding human dignity. The expansion of humanitarian assistance will elevate health services and deepen friendly ties between Iran and Afghanistan.

IRCS proposes UN bodies set up humanitarian training center in West Asia

The head of the IRCS has proposed that the United Nations resident coordinator and the director of the Regional Office for West and Central Africa launch a humanitarian training center in West Asia, announcing readiness to take the leading role in this regard.

The IRCS head, Pirhossein Kolivand, offered the proposal in a meeting with the UN resident coordinator, Christine Weigand, and the director of the Regional Office for West and Central Africa at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Charles Bernimolin.

Benefiting from 110,000 specialized and trained staff, as well as six million young volunteers, the Iranian Red Crescent Society has a high capacity in providing relief, educational, and humanitarian services, IRNA quoted Kolivand as saying.

The IRCS has an active presence in offering rescue and relief services to people in accidents and natural disasters. It is the only national society in the world that utilizes mounted volunteers to provide rescue services in insurmountable areas. The IRCS also has significant achievements in air rescue and the use of drones in rescue missions, he added.

Currently, the IRCS is cooperating with 19 countries across the world in manufacturing artificial and smart organs. The society has also developed the capacity to produce medical and pharmaceutical products.

The official highlighted that the IRCS measures during the recent US-Israeli war against Iran have drawn the attention of the international community and humanitarian institutions, which has paved the way to the expansion of collaborations.

He went on to say that the IRCS is ready to foster cooperation with the UN and its affiliated agencies in sharing relief experiences, holding joint educational courses, developing regional cooperation, enhancing human capacities, and even establishing a UN regional coordinating office in Iran.

For her part, Weigand lauded the IRCS efforts and accomplishments in concurrent management of the recent war and floods in the country, noting that the IRCS’s precise and up-to-date reports and documents on the war have been a key factor in reflecting the realities, making humanitarian demands, drawing the attention of the international community, and attracting their support and aid for impacted individuals.

Bernimolin, for his part, said the activities and capabilities of the IRCS have been recognized internationally for years; the IRCS is known as a professional, capable, and respected society.

The IRCS’s accurate reports and documents have greatly contributed to monitoring humanitarian conditions, assessing needs, and planning humanitarian responses, he added.

He said that the future collaborations between UN and IRCS will be centered around promoting educational cooperation, sharing expertise, and benefiting from reciprocal capacities. The official called for enhancing joint efforts in addressing the needs of those affected, and strengthening humanitarian actions.

MT/MG