The Government of the Islamic Republicof Iran has stated its commitment to improving the healthand nutritional status of the population as articulated inthe Interim Country Assistance Strategy (CAS), which listsas priorities addressing nutritional deficiencies, expandingcoverage of basic health services, and improving efficiencyof the health system and the quality of service at alllevels.This health sector review is consistent with thisin that it provides the platform and evidence base for suchreform.It is also in-line with part three of the currentFourth Five-Year Plan, which includes health development,human security and social justice priority, the reduction ofillness from malnutrition, increasing public health servicecoverage, and increasing access to quality health serviceswhile reducing the financial burden on the families. Theobjective of this study is to provide a comprehensive reviewand diagnostic of the performance of the health sector inthe Islamic Republic of Iran.The government is quiteadvanced in the type of analysis it already undertakes onvarious aspects of the sector (e.g., burden of diseases,national health accounts, and utilization analysis).However, a consolidation of this information and analysisthat encompasses several major elements of the health sectorhas not been done recently. The health sector review,through a synthesis of available data and other informationon the health sector attempts to: (i) assess the strengths,challenges, and opportunities facing the current healthsystem; (ii) offer analytic assessments of the healthpolicies and plans; and (iii) provide a framework fordeveloping strategic options as well as short- andmedium-term recommendations and action plans to achieve thegoals identified in the country's Fourth Five-YearPlan.The review is also intended to provide a platform fordiscussions on possible areas of collaboration between theGovernment of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the WorldBank on the health sector.