RC66 Information bulletin 1 EN

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Sixty-sixth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for the
Eastern Mediterranean,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, 14-17 October 2019
Information bulletin 1
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Introduction
Provinces
The Islamic Republic of Iran has 31 provinces, comprising more than 450 districts. Each
province, governed by a Governor General appointed by the Ministerial Cabinet, has at least
one University of Medical Sciences responsible for public health and medical education.
Population
According to the 2016 census and subsequent estimations in 2018, the country has a population
of over 82 million.
Neighbouring countries
Islamic Republic of Iran has one of the longest land borders of any country in western Asia
covering 5894 kilometres in length. It shares land borders with seven countries: Iraq,
Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. Iraq to the west shares
its entire eastern land border with Islamic Republic of Iran. Armenia’s border with Islamic
Republic of Iran is the shortest at 44 kilometres.
Location
Located in Southwest Asia and the Middle East, the Islamic Republic of Iran is the 18th largest
country in the world in terms of area at 1 648 195 square kilometres. Throughout history,
Islamic Republic of Iran has been of geostrategic importance because of its central location
in Eurasia and as a regional power.
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Economy
In 2017, Islamic Republic of Iran’s estimated gross domestic product was US$ 447.7 billion.
Its economy is dominated by the hydrocarbon sector, agriculture and services sectors, and a
noticeable state presence in manufacturing and financial services. It ranks second in the world
in natural gas reserves and fourth in crude oil reserves. Economic activity and government
revenues still depend to a large extent on oil revenues
.
Iranian authorities have adopted a comprehensive strategy encompassing market-based
reforms as reflected in the Government’s 20-year vision document and the sixth 5-year
development plan for 2016‒2021. This 5-year development plan comprises three pillars ‒
developing a resilient economy, making advances in science and technology and promoting
cultural excellence. In 2017, it saw economic growth of 3.8% and reform of state-owned
enterprises, the financial and banking sector, and the allocation and management of oil
revenues as among the main priorities of the government
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Its economy is a mixed and transitional economy with a large public sector. Over 40
industries are directly involved in the Tehran Stock Exchange, one of the best performing
exchanges in the world over the past decade. With 10% of the world’s proven oil reserves and
15% of its gas reserves, it is considered an energy superpower.
Language
Persian (Farsi) is the predominant and official language; however, English is also widely
spoken.
Culture
It is home to one of the world’s oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban
settlements dating back to 7000 BC. Islamic Republic of Iran’s culture is deeply intertwined
with its long and rich history, especially from the Persian Empire. Its cultural heritage is
preserved in its contemporary art, literature, architecture, and music Persian artifacts can be
seen in many leading museums around the world, such as the British Museum and the Louvre
in Paris.
Tehran
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Tehran is the capital city with a population of around 8.4 million in the city and over 13 million
in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran. Tehran is the most populous city in Islamic
Republic of Iran and western Asia, and has the second-largest metropolitan area in the Middle
East. It is ranked 29th in the world in terms of population of its metropolitan area.
More than half of the country’s industry is based in Tehran. It is also a leading hub for the sale
of carpets and furniture. There is an oil refinery south of the city. Tehran is a sprawling city at
the foot of the Alborz mountain range with an immense network of highways unparalleled in
western Asia. It is also the hub of the country’s railway network.
Health system reform
The Islamic Republic of Iran is strongly committed to primary health care and has adopted
innovative approaches to strengthening primary health care. Over three decades, the country
has been expanding basic health services to the population, especially in rural areas and to the
poorer segments of society. As many as 17 000 health houses cover nearly 100% of the rural
population, and community health workers (known as behvarz) deliver primary health care
services to people’s doorstep. This approach has increased coverage and access to services and
health indicators have shown significant improvement.
In 2012, the Government explicitly made health one of its major domestic priorities. The
Supreme Leader provided a vision for the health sector characterized by principles and values
such as providing comprehensive and integrated equity-based health care, prioritizing
prevention over treatment and ensuring sustainable financing for the health sector.
Accordingly, in May 2014, the Government unveiled its Health Transformation Plan to achieve
universal health coverage and reform the health sector. The overarching aim of the Plan is to
achieve universal health coverage by 2025 – five years before the target date of the Sustainable
Development Goals. Although the plan’s interventions have reduced out-of-pocket health
expenditure, increased insurance coverage to 92%, increased primary health care service
coverage in urban slums, built capacities for quality assessment and improvement, there remain
gaps that will be addressed through strengthening primary health care, enhancing public‒
private partnerships, establishing a functional referral system and improving service delivery
through adoption of a family practice approach.
Things to do: sightseeing and shopping
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Date and Venue The Sixty-sixth session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern
Mediterranean is scheduled to take place in Parsian Azadi Hotel,
Ornate Royal Golestan
Palace
Azadi Tower
Carpet Museum of Iran
Sadabaad Palace
National Museum of Iran Tehran Grand Bazar
Milad Tower
Nature Bridge
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Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, from Monday 14 to Thursday 17
October 2019, inclusive.
Address: Intersection of Yadegar-e-Emam and Chamran Highways,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Tel: (+98) 21 888 24 381
Fax: (+98) 21 860 44 397
Hotel booking coordinator help (Whatsapp): (+98) 912 203 99 25
Registration for
Participation
All participants are kindly requested to register for the Sixty-sixth
session of the Regional Committee through the following link:
https://reg.unog.ch/event/28205/, no later than 15 August 2019. The
WHO secretariat will confirm acceptance of your registration via e-
mail.
Membership and
attendance
The Regional Committee consists of Representatives, one from each
country or territory of WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region. The
Representatives may be accompanied by alternates and advisers (Rule 1 of
the Rules of Procedure).
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The WHO Regional Director, in consultation with the Regional Committee,
may invite States, not Members of the Committee, to participate without
vote in the sessions of the Regional Committee. The Regional Director, in
consultation with the Regional Committee, may also invite
nongovernmental organizations to participate in the deliberations of the
Committee (Rule 2 of the Rules of Procedure).
Credentials Member States shall communicate to the Regional Director, all alternates
and advisers, including the name and designation of their Representatives,
no later than 4 September 2019 (40 days before the date fixed for the
opening of the session of the Committee). Such credentials will be issued
by the Head of State, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Health
or any other appropriate authority (Rule 3 of the Rules of Procedure).
Similarly organizations and States invited to be represented at the session
shall communicate the names of the persons by whom they will be
represented.
Working languages The working languages of the Committee are Arabic, English and French.
Statements made in any of these languages will be interpreted
simultaneously into the other two languages. Persian (Farsi) interpretation
will also be available for inaugural session.
Agenda and other
documents
Official documentation of the session will be available in Arabic, English
and French on the Regional Committee website:
http://www.emro.who.int/about-who/rc66/index.html as of September
2019. Documents will not be dispatched by post. Furthermore, as RC66 is
the first paperless Regional Committee, participants are kindly requested
to consult the documents online, as no hard copies will be provided.
Eco-friendly
meeting
Organizers are committed to ensuring that this session of the Regional
Committee will be more environmentally friendly than previous sessions
through its paperless initiative. It will also seek to encourage people’s
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participation in physical activity initiatives and ensuring healthier food
options are available to delegates.
Submissions by
delegations
Delegations wishing to propose draft resolutions for circulation to the
Regional Committee are requested to share them with the Secretariat at
least two days before the proposal is discussed, to allow time for
translation, reproduction in the working languages and circulation to
delegations.
Travel arrangements Delegates/participants are kindly requested to make their own travel
arrangements for both outward and return journeys. Travellers are strongly
encouraged to have their return flights confirmed before departing for the
Islamic Republic of Iran, as onward reservations and deviations may be
difficult to obtain at short notice. The Secretariat will provide assistance
with travel arrangements during the session, if needed.
Arrival in Tehran Upon arrival at the Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, transport
to the hotel will be arranged provided that participants have shared their
travel details on their registration form.
A meeting point will be established at the arrival hall, equipped with WHO
and Regional Committee signage.
Commute time by car from the airport to the hotel is around 50 minutes
subject to the time of arrival and traffic congestion.
Entry visa to Iran All participants are kindly requested to fill in the visa application form
(attached Word file) no later than 15 August 2019 and send it to the
following address for visa assistance: RC66visa@behdasht.gov.ir (cc’ing:
rc66iran@who.int) attaching a digital passport photo (size 4cm*6cm) and
a scanned copy of their passport (in JPEG format and of acceptable quality).
Applicants will be informed of their visa status via return e-mail.
Accommodation The official hotel for the event is Parsian Azadi Hotel. It is strongly
recommended that all attendees reside in the proposed hotel.
Participants are kindly requested to make their own room reservation
online, by visiting the hotel website at www.parsianhotel66.com no later
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than 31 August 2019. Representatives and other participants are
responsible for settling their own hotel bills directly with the hotel.
The accommodation of heads of delegations will be arranged and covered
by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education.
Online booking can be made using credit cards, noting the below
cancellation policy:
Up to 48 hours before the date of arrival, the reservation will be free
cancelation and the entire amount will be refunded.
Up to 24 hours before the day of arrival, one night fee will be charged and
the rest will be refunded.
Less than 24 hours before the arrival, the reservation will be considered as
non-refundable and the entire payment will be charged.
Any extras must be settled directly with the hotel noting that credit
cards are not accepted in Islamic Republic of Iran and payment must
be made in cash (US dollars or Euros).
Transportation Transportation will be provided upon arrival and departure, and for any
official event held outside the hotel, noting that transportation will only be
made available to and from the official venue of the Regional Committee,
namely the Parsian Azadi hotel.
Banking facilities Due to variable exchange rates in the country, you can find the latest rates
on the hotel’s website: http://www.azadihotel.com Foreign currency can be
exchanged at the hotel or at a money exchange outside the hotel.
Climate In October the weather is expected to be pleasant during the day and cool
in the evening. Temperatures during this time of the year range between
14ºC and 23ºC.
Dress Code The hijab, or head scarf, should be worn and women are kindly requested
to wear loose fitting and long sleeved clothing.