Iran’s Healthcare Crisis: Nurse Shortage and Mass Exodus Push System to the Edge of Collapse

The persistent issues of regime corruption, unpaid wages, and intolerable working conditions are driving Iran’s medical workforce towards a precarious collapse. The healthcare system in Iran is under severe strain due to anti-people policies and systemic corruption, leading to a critical shortage of medical professionals, especially nurses. Reports indicate that the country is facing a deficit of at least 165,000 nurses, significantly impacting the quality of care provided to patients.

Recent admissions from regime officials reveal alarming statistics about Iran’s nursing workforce:

• Current Nurse Shortage: The head of the Supreme Nursing Council, Qassem Abutalebi, stated, “We currently have a shortage of 165,000 nurses…”
• Nurse-to-Bed Ratio: Iran’s nurse-to-hospital-bed ratio stands at 0.9, starkly lower than the global standard of three nurses per bed.
• Population Statistics: Globally, there are three to five hospital beds per 1,000 people; in Iran, this number is just 1.6, resulting in a nursing workforce that is six times below international norms.

In private hospitals, many of which are controlled by regime elites and the Revolutionary Guards, the situation is dire. These establishments tend to hire the minimum number of nurses, compelling the existing staff to work long shifts with mandatory overtime. Even officials are beginning to recognize the crisis. During a recent visit to the Persian Gulf Hospital, Mohammad Ebadi-Zadeh, a Friday prayers leader in Hormozgan Province, noted that the acute shortage of staff has led to “exhaustion, stress, and burnout” among nurses.

In state hospitals, the staffing crisis is particularly severe, with one nurse often responsible for caring for up to 12 patients simultaneously. This alarming situation has been linked to avoidable patient deaths, as highlighted by the Secretary-General of the National Nursing Association.

Financially, nurses are struggling. Most earn around 20 million tomans per month, which is less than half of Iran’s current poverty line, estimated at 35 million tomans several months ago. With ongoing inflation and currency devaluation, these meager salaries cover only about 50% of basic living expenses, and payment delays can extend for months.

Basir Hashemi, president of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, revealed that Fars Province is currently two months behind on nurse payments, a situation that is still relatively better compared to other provinces, where delays have reached seven or eight months. Most nurses employed in private hospitals are on temporary or contract terms, lacking essential employment benefits like insurance and pensions, which mirrors the plight of many industrial workers in Iran.

The pressure on nurses has intensified to the point that migration has become a common experience. According to Afkar News, “migration as a common feature of nursing life in recent years” has led to more than 3,000 nurses leaving the country annually in search of fair compensation and humane working conditions.

Abbas Ebadi, deputy minister of nursing at the Ministry of Health, acknowledged that the regime’s policies have significantly contributed to this exodus. He stated, “The cost of training a nurse is enormous. If we added even half of that amount to their salaries, they wouldn’t leave. It’s clear that we have failed to retain our nursing workforce.” He also admitted that workplace violence and mistreatment by hospital administrators are prevalent issues.

Growing Protests Across Iran

In response to these conditions, Iranian nurses have organized numerous protests across various cities over the past year, advocating for fair wages, safer working conditions, and an end to contract labor. The scale of these demonstrations has compelled even state-run media to take notice.

• At Qaem Hospital in Mashhad, nurses protested against the negligence of officials regarding their demands for better pay and working conditions, stating, “We can’t live on these wages.”
• In Kermanshah, nurses demonstrated outside the local medical university, expressing frustration over “discrimination, unpaid wages, and low pay scales.” Many of those participating reported not having received their salaries for several months.

A System in Freefall

The crisis within the nursing workforce is not an isolated issue; it reflects a broader systemic collapse within Iran’s healthcare infrastructure. Chronic corruption, budget cuts, and the regime’s militarized control over public funds have severely undermined the health sector. While billions are allocated for regional militias and propaganda efforts, hospitals continue to lack the essential staff, supplies, and funding necessary for effective operation.

This wave of nurse protests has become part of a larger national uprising, signifying a profound public rejection of the regime’s oppressive and exploitative governance. The resilience of Iran’s nurses—who continue to work under unfavorable conditions—has transformed them into symbols of both endurance and defiance against the ruling powers.