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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>PHM Iran reports a very successful event in
response to the WGNRR Call for<BR>Action to Combat Violence against Women. More
than 600 people, mainly women,<BR>attended the event on 29 May
2005.<BR> <BR>Representatives from several provinces mainly the Caspian Sea
area, Isfahan,<BR>Tabriz, Kourdestan and the rest from Tehran attended and spoke
about their<BR>experiences case studies and statistics. Papers were presented on
the<BR>effects of violence on health of women, violence and the prevalence
of<BR>HIV/AIDS and STDs, poverty and violence, drugs and violence,
economic<BR>consequence of violence and war, research methodology in this area,
its<BR>findings and shortcomings. Poetry about the experiences of women was
also<BR>recited. <BR> <BR>The discussion of the future of PHM Iran was a
significant portion of the<BR>agenda. The vision, charter, organizational
structure was discussed. So was<BR>the formation of PHM circles in places
outside of Teheran. The People's<BR>Health Charter, WGNNR call for action and
posters were distributed among the<BR>participants. The translation of Poverty,
Health and Development into Farsi<BR>was announced. A message from Ravi Narayan,
the coordinator of PHM<BR>Secretariat was read to the participants in Farsi.
<BR> <BR>The programme also included an excellent musical performance of a
group of<BR>girls with special needs from Caspian Sea areas and ended with a
popular<BR>music. A community health worker, Behvarz, was lauded for the work
she did<BR>for a population of 1500 women and children. The applause lasted a
full five<BR>minutes.<BR> <BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>