HOA’s Role in Advancing Iran’s Healthcare System | Part 4 Bringing Cancer Care Closer to Patients A cancer diagnosis is difficult enough.



It should never be made even harder by the need to travel hundreds—or thousands—of kilometers in search of treatment. Yet there was a time when access to advanced cancer therapies was limited, and many patients had few options beyond seeking care abroad or enduring long waiting times. Changing that reality required more than determination.



It required a national commitment to build capacity. Over the years, Iran invested in developing modern cancer care by establishing specialized oncology centers, introducing advanced radiotherapy technologies, expanding diagnostic capabilities, and training multidisciplinary teams capable of delivering increasingly sophisticated care.



The Board of Trustees for Foreign Currency Savings in Patients’ Treatment (HOA) contributed to this transformation by supporting the introduction of advanced medical technologies and helping equip healthcare institutions that would become the backbone of modern cancer treatment in the country. But the true achievement was never the technology itself. The real achievement was giving patients the opportunity to receive timely, high-quality care closer to their families, reducing the need to travel abroad and creating a healthcare system with the capacity to respond to one of the world’s most challenging diseases. Today, cancer care in Iran continues to advance through innovation, clinical expertise, and sustained investment in healthcare infrastructure. New technologies continue to emerge, but the principle remains unchanged.



Healthcare transformation is not about acquiring sophisticated equipment. It is about ensuring that every innovation ultimately reaches the patient who needs it most. That principle continues to guide HOA’s mission today as we work to strengthen resilient supply chains, support technology transfer, and expand sustainable access to medicines, medical equipment, and health technologies. Because every step forward in healthcare should bring treatment closer to people—not people farther from treatment.