Tehran hospital extending free medical care to Afghan migrants

A medical complex in the Iranian capital Tehran has started providing free medical services to migrants from neighboring Afghanistan.

Medical specialists say conditions have been facilitated to offer free patient care for Afghan migrants in Tehran, so that they would not have to worry about costly medical expenses, according to IRIB.

“We want to be a source for offering free medical services or at least kickstart a movement towards extending complementary treatment to our kindred brethren from Afghanistan,” said Dr. Moghadam, a university professor who is involved in the voluntary project at Yas Hospital Complex in central Tehran.

Further elaborating on the complementary patient care for Afghan migrants, the director of Yas Hospital, Dr. Jafarieh said, “We have implemented these services in serval areas, including neuro-surgery, infectious diseases, urology, neurology, and spinal cords.”

“Afghan patients will be able to be treated free of charge, or if they are in need of surgery, they would be exempted from paying surgery cost,” said Dr. Rostami, a young neuro-surgeon interviewed for the broadcast.

According to the report, the hospital does not at all discriminate based on the sort of temporary or permanent residential documentation the Afghan migrants may hold.

It further noted that extending such services to other cities and provinces across Iran would greatly improve the quality of life for Afghan migrants living in the country.

Dr. Moghadam, however, noted that the problem of providing free or affordable medical services for Afghan migrants would not be solved by merely having specialist physicians offer voluntary visits and surgery.

“There are other treatment charges involved, such as hospital beds, purchase of medicine and so on… so there needs to a fundamental plan to enhance the services,” he explained.

The report further noted that there are plans to “add more medical services, more specialists and additional medical staff” at the medical center, though it remains the only clinic that will extend free medical treatment to all Afghan migrants.

Iran provides free education to thousands of illegal migrant kids

An Iranian Interior Ministry official says the regulation has been reformed so as to prevent educational deprivation among migrant children.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has played host more than three million Afghan refugees fleeing their war-torn country since the US-led military invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 without much support or delivery of aid by international refugee organizations and the United Nations.

The flow of Afghan refugees to Iran surged again recently following the Taliban’s return to power in the impoverished nation after the 20-year occupation of foreign forces that left Afghanistan in ruins and sparked yet another wave of displacement.

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