Iran's Health Crisis: System Needs 60,000 Personnel

Iran's health ministry says the country's health care network is facing a shortage of 60,000 personnel as tens of thousands have emigrated under financial pressure.

During a televised program on Thursday, Deputy Minister Hossein Farshidi talked about the ‘Family Physician’ plan saying that if the implementation of this plan was a simple task, it would have been implemented in previous administrations.

Iran's healthcare system has faced a workforce crisis in recent years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Driven by economic and professional problems, as well as a lack of social and political freedoms, an increasing number of Iran's healthcare professionals emigrate.

Salaries for professionals, such as nurses in Iran is less than $200 a month.

Thousands of physicians, dentists, midwives, and nurses have either emigrated in the past few years or are planning to leave for other countries.

There is no transparent data on the emigration of healthcare and other professionals, but medical officials and lawmakers often offer fragmentary information on the scope of the problem.

In 2022, 4,000 doctors applied for good standing certificates to be able to emigrate and find employment in other countries. A large number find jobs in the Persian Gulf Arab states, such as Oman.

In February, Mohammad Sharifi-Moghadam, a member of the central council of Iran's Nurses’ Organization, said between 2,500 to 3,000 nurses were emigrating from Iran each year, based on the number of requests for good standing certificates, confirming that the applicant is entitled to practice medicine in the country.