A World Health Organization official said on Monday that the U.S.-Israeli war on Iranhad led to the evacuation of six hospitals but that so far the system appeared to be holding up and authorities had not sought emergency relief from the WHO.
“The primary healthcare and the health infrastructure of Iran is quite good and robust, and they’re able to accommodate the casualties as of now,” WHO regional director Hanan Balkhy told Reuters.
Iran’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, said on Monday that more than 1,300 people had been killed in Iran since the conflict began on February 28, and more than 7,000 had been injured.
The WHO, which has an office in Tehran and regularly helps Iranian authorities with disease management, has verified 18 attacks on healthcare facilities and the killing of eight medics.
Balkhy said the WHO had contingency plans to move in emergency supplies should the situation deteriorate further.
One potential risk is that “black rain” caused by toxic compounds carried in smoke from oil facilities that have been set on fire puts an extra burden on the healthcare system through respiratory infections, she added.
The conflict had forced the WHO to suspendflights carrying emergency medical supplies from its humanitarian hub in Dubai, but Balkhy said these had now resumed.
Requests from 25 member countries are being processed, but a WHO spokesperson said polio treatments were among those still waiting.
-Reuters
