War Health

Narrated by Dr. Ali Mehrabi Tavana

Compiled by: Mohya Hafezi
Translated by: Fazel Shirzad

2025-7-16

The book War Health is an oral narrative by Dr. Ali Mehrabi Tavana, a commander in the health sector during the Sacred Defense era. This book, in the form of six chapters and twenty conversation sessions, covers the narrator’s life from birth to the end of the [Iranian] Eight-Year War. The interviews and compilation of the book were conducted by Mohammad Reza Bagheri, and its publication was carried out by the Sacred Defense Documents and Research Center.

The cover design of this work is similar to the publisher’s other oral history books. The narrator’s image forms the main element of the cover design. The book begins with a preface by the publisher and an introduction by the editor. The text of the book has been compiled by maintaining the structure of questions and answers between the interviewer and the narrator. The conversation sessions were held between June 10 and January 29 of 2019.

The first chapter covers the narrator’s birth until his entry into the Ministry of Health and includes three conversations.

The first session deals with the narrator’s family background, his education from elementary school to high school, his entry into university to his specialized doctorate, and his deployment abroad. The meeting also discusses how they started their life together and how they joined the Imam Khomeini (RA) movement and the Islamic Revolution.

In the second conversation, the narrator mentions the role of prominent religious, revolutionary, and scientific figures in his personal and professional growth, including Ayatollah Mullah Ali Masoumi Hamedani, Ayatollah Seyyed Asadollah Madani, Ayatollah Mohammad Baqer Mohi al-Din Anvari, and Dr. Ezzat al-Din Javadian. He also refers to the scientific works of some professors and the time he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In the third conversation, the narrator recounts the story of the preparation of the enduring anthem "We are armed with Allah, the Greatest" and then explains how he began his responsibility in health management in the IRGC's health department and the formation of the War Health Headquarters in the Ministry of Health. He also talks about the role of the country's medical sciences in responding to the health needs of the Sacred Defense era.

The second chapter, titled "Hidden Evil in the Kurdistan Crisis," deals with the formation of the health structure in war zones in the early years of the imposed war. In this chapter, the narrator narrates the challenges of setting up an independent health unit in a situation where the commanders' main priority was on treating the wounded and concepts such as prevention and hygiene were given less attention.

The fourth interview discusses the beginning of the Kurdistan crisis, food poisoning, and the lack of health regulations, and how the lack of attention to health led to health crises on the front lines.

The fifth conversation focuses on the resistance to the formation of the health unit and narrates how, through the efforts and insistence of health managers, commanders realized the necessity of health in war.

The sixth conversation describes the process of improving the status of health during the years of the Sacred Defense, and discusses infectious diseases, experiences with traditional medicine, and the formation of the Health Headquarters in the Ministry of Health.

The seventh conversation focuses on the efforts of experts, including Dr. Alireza Yalda, in preventing infectious diseases, and refers to issues such as vaccination, food hygiene, water resources, and the formation of military health research centers.

The third chapter, titled “The Ups and Downs of Health in the Final Years of the Imposed War,” explains the maturation and consolidation of the role of health in the country’s defense structure in the final years of the war. At this point, the experience of the early years of the war and the bitter consequences of ignoring health caused the relevant institutions, especially the War Health Headquarters, to enter the field with greater seriousness and organize preventive measures.

In the eighth conversation, the narrator talks about the successes achieved through continuous follow-up in the field of health management on the front and rear lines of the war; issues such as controlling emerging diseases, establishing a health school, efforts to neutralize canned toxins, the international reflection of these measures, and the martyrdom of health workers at care stations are among the themes of this session.

The ninth conversation begins with a spiritual perspective and, referring to the existential philosophy of battlefield health, highlights the importance of prevention as a fundamental strategy in preventing diseases common in operational areas such as bilharzia, plague, malaria, leprosy, and typhoid.

The tenth conversation raises the issue of combating diseases transmitted by arthropods, including typhus and plague, and analyzes the success of health management in preventing deadly epidemics in difficult war conditions.

Chapter four, entitled "The Relationship between Medical Excellence and Improving Health in Wars," discusses the deep connection between the advancement of medical knowledge and the expansion of health in difficult war conditions. This chapter emphasizes in particular the importance of education, vaccination, spirituality, and strengthening health structures, and shows how the combination of science and faith has played an important role in maintaining the health of warriors.

In the eleventh conversation, he examines dangerous and contagious diseases such as tetanus and meningitis on the fronts. Finally, the direct relationship between personal hygiene and the physical and mental health of the fighters is emphasized.

In the twelfth conversation, by discussing sporadic diseases resulting from lack of personal hygiene and emphasizing the connection between spirituality and health, the valuable experiences of the health group in the form of the Imam Reza (pbuh) plan are discussed; a plan that was also approved by the General Command Headquarters and played a key role in organizing and expanding health services.

The thirteenth conversation highlights the vital role of public health education; the training that included not only Basij, IRGC, army, and gendarmerie fighters, but also senior military commanders.

Chapter five, entitled "Environmental Health," deals with one of the most sensitive and comprehensive areas of health in the imposed war. This chapter describes an organized process during which efforts were made to ensure that environmental health standards were met even in difficult conditions in operational areas.

In the fourteenth discussion, the World Health Organization's definition of environmental health is used as the basis for the study and how it is implemented on the fronts is explained. Other topics of this meeting include holding specialized seminars with the participation of professors from medical universities, exchanging experiences between operational units and the general health management, and confronting threats such as contaminated water and enemy poison pills.

In the fifteenth discussion, topics such as sanitary disposal of waste and sewage, the role of vermin such as rodents in the spread of diseases such as relapsing fever and salmonella, and the risk of bioterrorism on battlefields are discussed. The narrator also points out the importance of maintaining hygiene in public places such as mosques, prayer stations, hospitals, and clinics in Aqaba.

In the sixteenth conversation, the discussion focuses on maintaining hygiene in places frequented by fighters, such as bathrooms, prayer rooms, meeting halls, and vehicles transporting the wounded.

Chapter six, titled "Hygiene and Food Poisoning," addresses topics such as the impact of environmental pollution on the resilience of fighters, food hygiene, the dangers of chemical bombing, and occupational health experiences in war situations.

The seventeenth conversation focuses on how resilience is reduced by environmental pollution on the frontlines.

In the eighteenth conversation, the role of the experiences of the Sacred Defense in managing natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and storms is examined, and the use of health and medical capacities in critical situations, including the use of field hospitals and health assistance, is considered.

The nineteenth conversation is dedicated to the lessons learned in nutrition during the Sacred Defense era and raises issues such as providing small but high-energy food, observing personal hygiene, producing field kitchens, and forming a high military nutrition committee in the country.

In the final conversation, by reviewing documents left over from the war, the role of health and medical officials in protecting the health of the community and the impact of the experiences of the Sacred Defense on managing crises such as the coronavirus pandemic are analyzed.

The index is the final part of the book. The book's photos are included in the text with subtitles.

The first edition of the book "War Health" was published in 432 pages, Medium octavo paperback and 500 copies, , and priced at 260,000 Tomans (Iranian currency) in 2024.