Statement By H.E. Dr. Bahram Einollahi, Minister of Health and Medical Education of the Islamic Republic of Iran Before 77th World Health Assembly (WHA77) Geneva, 29 May 2024   بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم Honorable Ministers and Delegates,  Mr. Director General, Ladies and Gentlemen,   As we mourn the passing of our late President and our late Minister of Foreign Affairs and other dignitaries in this trying time, we are committed to continue their tenacious endeavors in the field of health without interruption. Late President Raisi made every effort in serving the Iranian nation and improving the quality of life through promoting the health for all. Excellencies; While we meet here in Geneva at the World Health Assembly, an all-out genocidal acts are being committed against the Palestinian People. The crimes and atrocities that occur every day in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are an all-out genocidal war against the Palestinian people. The health and humanitarian situation in Gaza is inhumane and continues to deteriorate. The Palestinians, especially children and women, have been deprived of the most basic health services and thousands of people have been dragged to death. The international community and international organizations should go beyond statements and rhetoric and fulfill their human duty in practice and not remain silent in the face of these crimes. Let's all work for “All for Health, Health for All”. We hope that the positive vote of the United Nations General Assembly on the membership of Palestine will be an important step to recognize and ensure the legitimate rights of Palestinians, including their right to self-determination. Honorable Ministers; I would like to underline the critical importance of Family Health and the referral system, which is currently one of our priorities. We believe that developing family medicine educational programs with a holistic approach, under the title of family health, guarantees all aspects of health in the family, ultimately leads to the provision effective care, improving patient outcomes and reducing the burden on healthcare infrastructure. The family, with its legal and inherent concept, is the center of all health programs. All-round health is very difficult to achieve outside of the natural family unit and all services must be designed and implemented based on the family and in line with strengthening the natural family. With support of the Government, outpatient and inpatient services for children under 7 years have become free in Iran, and fortunately, this year, we managed to introduce pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines in our children's immunization programme. Dear Colleagues; We are committed to maintain healthcare as our highest priority and continue our remarkable progress in the health sector through allocating sufficient resources, in the face of the ongoing and increasing external economic restrictions arising from the illegitimate unilateral coercive measures. Nevertheless, this does not absolve the responsibility of States imposing and complying with such barriers that directly and adversely affect health standards of other nations. Our legitimate expectation from the international community is to stand up against illegitimate unilateral sanctions in the field of health, and help ensure equitable and unimpeded access to internationally-coordinated mechanisms and relevant health products, especially during public health emergencies. Thank you.