Abstract
Unilateral US sanctions against Iran in recent years have been harsh on the health and lives of Iranians.1Danaei G Harirchi I Sajadi HS Yahyaei F Majdzadeh R The harsh effects of sanctions on Iranian health.Lancet. 2019; 394: 468-469Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (12) Google Scholar, 2Salamati P Chaufan C The harsh effects of sanctions on Iranian health.Lancet. 2019; 394: 1990-1991Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar Many scholars have reported that sanctions markedly deteriorate people's health.3Kokabisaghi F Assessment of the effects of economic sanctions on Iranians' right to health by using human rights impact assessment tool: a systematic review.Int J Health Policy Manag. 2018; 7: 374-393Crossref PubMed Scopus (47) Google Scholar, 4Ford P Sanctions on Syria.Lancet Glob Health. 2020; 8e1370Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar Restrictions on financial transactions and trade undermine access to basic needs such as food, medicine, and medical supplies. Moreover, the impacts of sanctions on the economy have decreased the ability of Iranians to pay for life-saving services. Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic has multiplied the negative impact of the sanctions.5Murphy A Abdi Z Harirchi I McKee M Ahmadnezhad E Economic sanctions and Iran's capacity to respond to COVID-19.Lancet Pub Health. 2020; 5: e254Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (25) Google Scholar, 6Takian A Raoofi A Kazempour-Ardebili S COVID-19 battle during the toughest sanctions against Iran.Lancet. 2020; 395: 1035-1036Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (145) Google Scholar Iran is seeing the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a daily death toll of more than 360 people, as of May 13, 2021, according to WHO. Case numbers and mortality might continue to surge given the inadequate vaccination levels of the population. Despite compelling evidence on the harsh effect on health, the sanction-implementing agencies have always stated they did not target people's health and that essential medicines and equipment are exempt from the embargo. Following President Biden's inauguration, a new round of negotiations on returning to the Iran Nuclear Deal has begun. Two task forces have been defined in the preliminary negotiations: one to return sanctions imposed during the Trump administration and the other to return Iran to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action commitments. Experience of previous negotiations has shown that reaching any agreement can take months. One area of mutual agreement is that people's health, as a human right, must be preserved under any sanction regime. Given the impact of current sanctions on citizens' health, immediate action is needed to review barriers to the equitable access of people to medicines and medical supplies. In parallel with the task force work, we recommend the formation of an additional group to identify immediate measures to reduce the impact of sanctions on health. For example, protecting certain banking channels through specific financial institutions could facilitate the provision of medicines and health-related products. Immediate policies are required to alleviate the negative effects of sanctions to save lives in Iran. Agreements on health should be on a shorter timeline than other disrupted issues that might require longer and more serious negotiations. SG and RM met at WHO meetings, with travel funded by the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office. HSS and RM were co-investigators of research on sanctions funded by the Iranian National Institute for Medical Research Development. The harsh effects of sanctions on Iranian healthIran has been under different rounds of economic sanctions since 1980. In July, 2015, the UN Security Council, Germany, and the EU were successful in forming an agreement with Iran, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that relieved some of these sanctions. Even though the International Atomic Energy Agency verified that Iran was abiding by the provisions of the deal, US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of the USA from the JCPOA in May, 2018. A new round of US-issued sanctions has been imposed on Iran since November, 2018, to stop Iran's oil sales. Full-Text PDF
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