Balochistan Province (Sistan and Balochistan), with a population of over 2.8 million and vast geography, remains one of the most systematically deprived regions in Iran in terms of medical infrastructure. Decades of structural discrimination and deliberate neglect in resource allocation have left the Baloch people with almost no access to basic healthcare. Severe shortages of hospitals, specialist doctors, medical equipment, and even ambulances cause hundreds of preventable deaths every year — especially among pregnant women, children, and patients with chronic illnesses.
Acute shortage of hospitals and medical centers
The province has only 27 public and private hospitals, providing roughly 1.2 hospital beds per 1,000 people — half the national average. More than ten counties have no independent hospital at all. Many rural comprehensive health centers are effectively closed due to lack of staff and equipment. The 540-bed hospital in Chabahar, whose construction began in 2018, is still less than 5 % complete. Patients in the south of the province are forced to travel hundreds of kilometers for basic care.
Critical shortage of specialist physicians
Physician density in Balochistan is only 6.5 doctors per 10,000 people — about one-tenth of the rate in Tehran. Dozens of counties lack even a single obstetrician-gynecologist, pediatric surgeon, or anesthesiologist. As a result, dozens of mothers and newborns die every year from complications that could have been prevented with the presence of a specialist.
Insufficient and dilapidated ambulance fleet
The province’s ambulance service is severely under-equipped and most vehicles are old and broken down. In southern Balochistan alone, at least 30–40 additional ambulances are urgently needed. On the province’s dangerous, storm-prone roads, a delay of a few hours often means death.
Hundreds of kilometers for a simple medical test
Patients routinely travel 1,400–1,600 km to Kerman, Mashhad, or Tehran — for routine tests such as ultrasound, CT scans, or MRI. Many sleep on the street for days to get an appointment. For impoverished families, the cost of travel and accommodation is unaffordable, forcing many to abandon treatment altogether.
Thalassemia and cancer: silent catastrophes
- Thalassemia: Balochistan has the highest number of registered thalassemia patients in Iran (over 3,500). Each patient needs 2–3 units of blood per month, but blood reserves sometimes last only 2–3 days. More than a hundred patients without identity documents are denied medicine and care. Dozens die every year due to blood shortages and extreme poverty.
- Cancer: There are no specialized chemotherapy or radiotherapy centers in southern Balochistan. Cancer patients must travel to Tehran or Mashhad; many die on the way or because diagnosis and treatment come too late.
Preventable deaths caused by systemic discrimination
Maternal mortality in Balochistan is 3–4 times the national average. Every year dozens of children die for lack of a pediatric surgeon or because an ambulance never arrives. In recent years there have been multiple documented cases of mothers and twin newborns dying simply because no specialist or basic equipment was available.
This is no longer mere “shortage” — it is prolonged, structural discrimination against the Baloch people that claims human lives every single day. Until medical resources and infrastructure are distributed fairly and without discrimination, these silent deaths will continue.
