Community Based Initiatives in Islamic Republic of Iran

Seminar by Ministry of Welfare and Social Security:

Ministry of Welfare and Social Security in collaboration with WHO conducted a seminar on the orientation of CBI for different Ministries and five Governor Generals as a tool for Community Based Empowerment (CBE). The seminar was held on 11 June 2007 with the presence of over 80 in participants of various organizations representing public sector and civil society. Dr. Abdel Reza Mesri, Honorable Minister of Welfare and Social Security made a presentation on the community based initiative and the ways each person should maximize his abilities and potentials. Dr. Mubashar Sheikh, WHO Representative, made a presentation on the Community Based Empowerment for the audience.           

Training Workshop for Municipality:

WHO in collaboration with Tehran Municipality conducted CBI Management Tools Course for Master Trainers for 22 zones of Tehran. The training was held on 20-24 May 2007 in the Health Office of Tehran Municipality in which 25 members of officials from Health Center of Tehran Municipality, Environmental & Occupational Health Department of Ministry of Health and Medical Education as well as WHO Staff participated.

During the training, basic concepts of public health, social mobilization and development, management of CBI, leadership skills along with mental health and community-based disaster management issues were discussed.

Training Course on Concept of Social Determinants of Health (SDH):

On 1^st May 2007, Tehran University of Medical Science, School of Public Health, in collaboration with WHO, organized a training course with participation of 18 students of Master of Public Health (MPH). The students attending the training course were general physicians who are working at national and local level of health system. The presentation was focused on introduction to Social Determinant of Health (SDH) concept, priorities and strategies along with commission, its mandate and the definition of knowledge networks.  

Training for Programme Managers of Healthy Districts:

Ministry of Health and Medical Education in collaboration with WHO held a training session on 28 May 2007 for Programme Managers of Community Based Initiative (CBI). 

Since its introduction in 2000, the number of districts which are implementing CBI has reached 19. After finalization of CBI evaluation, Ministry of Health and Medical Education has started addressing the shortfalls of CBI implementation. In this regard, essential packages, management techniques, problem solving, documentation and reporting were addressed in the training course. Programme managers from Sistan & Baluchistan, Hormozgan, Markazi, Isfahan, Kerman, Mazandaran, Fars, Semnan, Yazd, Golestan, Charmahal-e-Bakhtiari, Khorasan Razavi, West Azarbayejan, Khozestan, and Boushehre Provinces were invited in this training course.

Workshop on Gender Mainstreaming in Health:

From 10-14 April 2007, the Training of Trainers Workshop was held in Salzburg, Austria with participation of Ms. Shadrokh Sirous, Technical Officer, WHO Office in Iran, along with 27 persons from other countries.

The first three days of the training were dedicated to the implementation of "gender mainstreaming for practical guide", aimed at health managers working at the country level and public health professionals in international, national or community based institutions. 

A second capacity building tool, the Technical Briefing Kit, was also discussed at different stages during the training. A survey of WHO Country Representatives offices and country focal points from a few WHO regions highlighted the need for capacity building and user-friendly tools to facilitate the integration of gender into their country-level work. To facilitate this process, a Technical Briefing Kit is currently being developed by WHO.