WHO donates trauma and emergency surgery kits to vulnerable provinces in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Tehran, the Islamic Republic of Iran – The World Health Organization (WHO) has handed over 4 trauma and emergency surgery kits (TESKs) to local focal points at the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MoHME) in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan, Hormozgan, Kerman and Khorasan Razavi. Each kit contains medicines and equipment to perform 100 surgeries, enabling 400 emergency surgeries across the provinces.

Supported by funding from European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), the donation will enhance disaster and emergency preparedness in these vulnerable regions.
 

According to the International Disaster Database, since 2023, out of 12 natural disasters in the Islamic Republic of Iran meeting the criteria for database registration, 7 were reported in provinces covered by the project, including 4 hydrological disasters (floods), 2 meteorological events (storms) and 1 geophysical occurrence (earthquake).

Limited access to emergency care in the target provinces – among the biggest in the country, they contain a large number of refugees who either live there or travel through the provinces to reach other areas – has led to high fatality and injury rates among affected populations. 

Together with efforts to improve capacity in prehospital care, previous donations of ambulances and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and mass casualty management care training, the TESKs will enhance emergency preparedness and disaster response.

The initiative demonstrates WHO’s and ECHO’s commitment to supporting communities in crisis and building resilience in the face of health emergencies.

The donations complement our work to holistically prepare for emergencies. As we work with alongside the Ministry of Health and Medical Education on infectious disease outbreak detection and response, the project has also helped strengthen public health surveillance capacities through the training of community health workers, allowing the health system to more rapidly detect and respond to public health emergencies.  

"These kits will help ensure that people injured in emergencies can get the critical care they need, when they need it," said WHO Representative and Head of Mission to the Islamic Republic of Iran Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain. "By strengthening the capacity of local health care providers, we are helping to build resilience and save lives."

Early reports by the health facilities that have received the lifesaving medical equipment indicate that the support provided has been instrumental in saving critical patients among refugees and host communities.