Increased Life Expectancy, Amongst the Ultimate Goals of the Ministry of Health

According to Director General of Population, Family and School Health of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, increased life expectancy is the ultimate goal of the country’s healthcare system.

 According to WEBDA, Dr. Mohammad Ismael Motlagh in Mashhad added that life expectancy in Iran is currently 64 and 74 years considering quality and quantity respectively, and this gap must be eliminated.

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

He reported an 80-thousand decrease in mortality in the country during the year 2015 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 5 years old, and death of pregnant mothers decreased to 9.5, 13.8, 15, and 18.9 respectively.

However, Director General of Population, Family and School Health of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education stated that they expect some provinces of the country to take more measures on reducing mortality of pregnant mothers.

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

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. 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 as a result of incidents, he stated that mortality in childhood and youth is of high significance, because children and adolescents have longer lifespan than middle-aged and elderly people.