“Regretfully, unilateral coercive measures, including unilateral economic, financial and banking sanctions against Iran, have seriously violated the right of access to health care for Iranians, and especially those facing HIV-related problems are directly suffering from this situation,” Zahra Ershadi said on Friday.
Ershadi made the remarks in an address to a UN General Assembly meeting, titled ‘HIV and AIDS: Ending inequalities and getting on track to end AIDS by 2030’.
The senior Iranian diplomat underlined that the unilateral US measures had hindered the Iranian patients’ “timely and effective” access to medicine and medical equipment.
“Coercive and unjust unilateral sanctions have blocked the ordinary channels of international cooperation and are a source of concern that has negatively affected Iran's efforts to combat such diseases,” Ershadi noted.
“In addition, it has severely limited timely and effective access to the diagnosis, medicine, treatment, medical equipment, and technologies required for providing comprehensive health care services, especially to people with AIDS.”
“Iran urges members of the international community to take effective, immediate and practical steps to remove these coercive sanctions,” Ershadi said.
Highlighting Iran's achievements in the fight against AIDS, she said that the Islamic Republic is one of the few countries in Asia that has made significant progress in controlling and treating HIV and AIDS.
Iran is also one of the countries that has provided safe and free-of-charge access to the health and specialized treatment needs of people living with AIDS, she added.
She reiterated calls for the removal of obstacles to access to the latest health technologies related to the prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS.
MP/PressTV
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