The Left Party of Iran (People’s Fadaian)
March, 12, 2020
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Director General of the World Health Organization
Avenue Appia 20, 1202 Genève, Switzerland
Dear Mr. Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Being aware of the WHO and your involvement with the problem of COVID-19 outbreaks in Iran, we would like to draw your attention to the following:
We share this assessment with the WHO representative that the Iranian medical system in coalition with the world’s cohesive network is capable of overcoming COVID-19. The building block of this struggle is the proficiency of a trained, experienced and diligent human resources that we have seen in recent weeks in the fight against the Corona-virus. We also acknowledge that this is a global problem and as such it requires a global struggle against it. At the same time, we emphasize the dire situation in Iran which is distinct from many other countries. We warn that the current problem in Iran could turn into a disaster both inside and outside of the country.
The secrecy and denial by senior officials of the Islamic Republic in the first few days of the presence of the corona-virus in Iran is the official policy of the regime. Their assessments are vague and untrue and their reports do not cover all the angles. Many evidence, including repeated reports and statements and warnings from middle managers and local authorities, indicates a much higher number of victims and patients with Covid-19 than the official statistics. As an example, the governor of Kashan has reported fatalities in this city and its surroundings more than half of the official death toll in the entire country as of March 9, 2020, while Kashan’s population is one present of Iran's population. The official picture outlines a much milder epidemic and as such it leads to believe that outside help is not needed whereas the allocation of financial and human resources and the necessary security measures have been widely neglected.
Despite the US government's claim that its sanctions are not including medical goods but firstly, the erosive effects of these sanctions on the Iranian economy and its reserves and secondly, the impediments to financial and credit sanctions stemming from the sanctions on the nation's current capabilities have jeopardized the fight against the disease.
Unfortunately, the superstitious and discriminatory beliefs of some religious circles and religious authorities in regards to the immunity of religious sites from natural disasters not only encouraged their followers to visit these places and perform their public rituals in the early days of the outbreak, but also it blocked the efforts to close these sites and putting a temporary ban on their mass rituals.
People's deep distrust of the government is one of the issues in effectively fighting the disease. The efforts by the state are often disregarded by people and it could create the arena for the progressive outbreak of the disease.
Mr. Director General,
The scope of the prevalence of COVID-19 disease in Iran and the current quality of work and capabilities cannot be called a disaster. What has so far prevented the catastrophe was primarily the efforts and sacrifices of physicians, nurses, and other staff in the Iranian health system. However, this cannot be sustained in the context of the situation briefly outlined above and sooner or later it wouldn’t be enough to prevent the disaster. Unfortunately, the signs of failure already appeared. The severe shortage and the lack of medical staff as well as the facilities for diagnosis and treatment have recently appeared at large scales. The Iranian health system and the Iranian people need the help and close involvement of the World Health Organization in the ongoing fight against the Corona virus. In our view, this involvement can be enhanced by the wider presence of your organization in Iran and the strengthening of independent information channels as well as official request to the Iranian government to ask for outside assistance. The government’s pleas could attract many organizations and the proper use of all their capabilities. We would like to request that your organization helps us to lift the "medical embargo" and the general restrictions imposed by the sanctions.
Thank you for your attention and we appreciate your action to help the Iranian people in much larger scales.
Sincerely,
The Left Party of Iran (People’s Fadaian)
International Relations
Mehdi Ebrahimzadeh
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