Iranian pediatrician dies amid medic suicide crisis

An Iranian pediatrician has taken her own life in Yazd, central Iran, amid a growing suicide crisis within the nation's medical community.

Dr Noor Foroughi Nasab was a resident of the pediatric department of Shahid Sadoughi Hospital and the mother of a young child. "The deceased had a history of suicide and the relevant authorities were aware of her condition," said Mohammadreza Asadi, a member of the board of directors of Iran's Medical Council (IRIMC), according to KhabarOnline.

Recent figures provided by Tejarat News, a non-independent news outlet, indicate that a doctor has taken their own life approximately every 10 days since the beginning of the Persian New Year in late March this year.

Experts have attributed the increased suicides in Iran to the systemic reluctance and neglect of Iranian authorities to address workers' conditions.

As pay and working conditions worsen in Iran, reports reveal a 200% increase in doctors applying for immigration compared to five years ago.

The Iranian Psychiatric Scientific Association has highlighted that 16 medical residents took their own lives last year alone. According to medical journal The Lancet, the head of the Iranian Psychiatric Association has accused the Ministry of Health of withholding exact numbers of suicides.