Mortality Reduction and Increased Life Expectancy Are Among the Major Schemes of the Ministry of Health

Director of Population, School and Family Health of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education stated that there is a 10-year gap between the quantity and the quality of life expectancy in Iran.

According to WEBDA, in the Conference of directors of Departments of Family Health from universities of medical sciences all around the country in Mashhad, Dr. Mohammad Ismael Motlagh stated that life expectancy in Iran is now 64 and 74 considering quantity and quality respectively and this gap must be removed.

He stated that mortality reduction and life expectancy increase are among the ongoing schemes of the Ministry of Health, and the ultimate goal is to reach a long lifespan full of health without any diseases.

He reported an 80-thousand decrease in mortality in the country during the past year in comparison with the year earlier and stated that this mortality reduction was a great achievement, and it is hoped that this trend will continue more quickly this year.

Dr. Motlagh added that among the achievements of the Ministry of Health is that for each live birth, infant death, death of 1-year-old children, death of children below 1 year old, and death of pregnant mothers decreased to 9.5, 13.8, 15, and 18.9 respectively.

However, he stated that we expect some provinces of the country to take more measures on reducing death of pregnant mothers.

He stated that in Sistan and Balouchistan, mortality of pregnant mothers has decreased in recent years due to planning.

Dr. Motlagh added that in the sixth development plan, mortality of pregnant mothers in Iran is expected to decline to 15 cases per one hundred thousand live births.

He added that based on the objectives of the World Health Organization in 2030, no avoidable mortality of pregnant mothers in Iran must be reported.

Pointing out to the increasing youth mortality in Iran due to incidents, he stated that mortality in childhood and youth is significant because children and adolescents have longer lifespan than middle-aged and elderly people.