IFRC to advocate easement of medicinal sanctions on Iran
The head of the Middle East and North Africa regional office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) Societies said Tuesday that the organization is working to reduce the impact of pharmaceutical sanctions on Iran.
Hossam Elsharkawi stated that he recently met with leaders of the Iranian Red Crescent Society and promised to advocate for easing sanctions that have made it difficult to get medicine and medical supplies into Iran, Mehr news agency reported.
“In the past two years, I have traveled to Iran and have seen firsthand the high operational capacity and large number of volunteers” in the country’s Red Crescent branch, Elsharkawi said on the sidelines of a meeting of the International Federation’s Islamic Advisory Committee in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
He said he plans to send colleagues to Tehran in the coming weeks to learn from the Iranian Red Crescent’s experiences in several humanitarian fields.
The comments came after Elsharkawi met with the secretary general and deputy director of international affairs for the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Yaqub Soleimani and Razieh Alishvandi.
Alishvandi spoke about the role of Iranian women in the Red Crescent and said the organization can serve as an example of “the capabilities and effective presence of Iranian women, especially in the field of relief and humanitarian actions.”
Soleimani called for more advocacy to document and reduce the impact of sanctions on humanitarian operations. He also pointed out that the Iranian Red Crescent’s network of thousands of local Crescent Houses that mobilize communities to prepare for disasters is a successful model that was welcomed by the federation and member societies.