MASHHAD, Islamic Republic of Iran – “My mother urgently needs eye surgery, but the cost of the treatment is beyond our control,” said Zahra*, a refugee from Afghanistan. “My sister and I work hard to support our family, but we can barely meet our basic needs.”
Decades of political and economic instability, repeated outbreaks of conflict, and significant restrictions on the rights of women and girls after the Taliban took power in 2021 have left millions of people in Afghanistan vulnerable. They have been forced to evacuate their hometowns. . Zahra is one of them. She left Afghanistan in 1979 for the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has hosted the world's largest refugee population for more than 40 years.
Refugees around the world, especially women and girls, suffer from specific health problems. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, Afghan female refugees have high rates of complications during pregnancy, and many women find it difficult to access any type of reproductive health care.
Over the past decade, Iran's universal healthcare system has been expanded to include free or reduced-cost healthcare for refugees, but many women and girls remain without access to healthcare.
“Every day we meet many people who are financially deprived and cannot afford the treatment they need,” Fatemeh, a community health worker in Golestan province, told UNFPA, the United Nations reproductive health agency. Ta. “They have to prioritize their basic needs over their health.”
Providing health insurance support
Since 2015, an agreement between the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Iran's Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Health and Medical Education has allowed registered refugees to enroll in the national health insurance system, which covers more than 1,000 public hospitals. There is. Private facilities are also available.
This will not only help people manage their own and their families' well-being more consistently, but also work toward inclusion, enrollment, and reducing harmful coping mechanisms (e.g., loss of health care due to financial constraints). support.
In recent months, UNFPA has begun offering cash vouchers to help cover health insurance premiums for vulnerable Afghan women, including female heads of households, pregnant women and refugees with chronic illnesses.
For Zahra's mother, the voucher is a tool that bridges the gap between basic eye care and necessary specialized surgery. “Must have medical insurance” [is] It was a lifeline for my mother and saved her from the threat of total blindness,” Zahra told UNFPA.
The coupons also aim to encourage more women to visit their health care providers for prenatal and antenatal care.
“I am due to give birth in the next week,” another woman, Razie*, told UNFPA. “This support provides much-needed support during a critical time.”
hope and peace
To date, the program has distributed approximately 3,500 cash vouchers to Afghan women refugees in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Although evacuation can bring anxiety, the ability to seek and receive medical care, even while in transit or in temporary accommodation, can be a source of great comfort. “It gives me hope and peace of mind knowing that there is some help available to overcome the challenges I'm facing,” Lazier said.
“When we handed out health insurance cash cards, the smiles on the faces of the recipients gave us a great sense of relief,” Fatema added. “It was rewarding to know that we could provide them with the support they needed and potentially have a positive impact on their lives.”
*Names have been changed for privacy and protection
This is part of a series of stories showing progress made since the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, which committed to ensuring gender equality and the right to sexual and reproductive health for all. Find out more.
