MNA– Iranian Health Minister at a conference in Shanghai warned against the unprecedented rise of chronic diseases in the world, calling on all countries to pay special attention to this issue.


Hassan Hashemi made the remarks in the expert panel of the ninth Global Conference on Health Promotion (9GCHP) that was held in the Chinese city of Shanghai on Tuesday. He added that overcoming chronic diseases requires planned integration of food and health as the key factor for National Sustainable Development, and stressed that sustainable development of health is strongly linked with food and nutritional security.

“In the past few decades, Iran has undergone significant changes in the demographic, economic, social and nutritional areas which have made tremendous changes in the pattern and treatment of non-communicable diseases in the country,” Hashemi said at the panel.

He referred to the formation of Iran's High Council for Health and Food Safety headed by President Hassan Rouhani, adding “the council aims to create proper conditions for integrational approaches to foodstuff, nutrition and health policies so as to guarantee health in all policy-makings.”

He also noted that in June 2015, National Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases and Related Risk Factors in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2015-2025, was adopted in the presence of Director-General of WHO Dr. Margaret Chan.

The Action Plan presents findings from the Global Burden of Disease study that show how non-communicable diseases pose an increasing threat to Iranians’ health; “this national plan is executed under my direct supervision and includes 14 main goals to be achieved by 2025, such as a 30% reduction in the risk of premature death from non-communicable diseases, controlling the increase of obesity and diabetes.”

Hashemi further pointed to the letter sent by WHO in which the international organization lauded Iran as a country that has managed to achieve such a quick advancement in targeting 9 non-communicable diseases by 2020.

The Iranian Health Minister heading a delegation arrived in Shanghai on Monday to take part in the 9th Global Conference on Health Promotion (9GCHP).