Dear Editor
Health as a fundamental human value and need is a public right and a common goal of different sections of society in each country (1).Policies shape our lives, and these conditions can lead to positive or negative consequences for the health of the population and individuals.Health in all policies includes all financial and economic strategies, transportation, environments, housing, and education.Therefore, these policies are based on values and rules similar to the World Health Organization's definition in cross-sectoral cooperation for health and the concept of public health policies or the total government achievements (2-4).
The two main strategies for establishing justice in health are cross-sectoral cooperation and public participation (1, 4, 5).Cross-sectoral collaboration is a well-known relationship between the health sector and other sectors that have been created to take actions to achieve the final results or consequences of the health system so that it is more efficient and sustainable than just the health sector acting alone (1, 2, 6).
In Iran, cross-sectoral cooperation has always been considered to ensure community health goals. One of the legal opportunities for the development of inter-sectoral cooperation in the health of the provinces is the formation of provincial health and food security councils since 2006 (specialized Health and food security taskforce of the province since 2008) with duties such as formulating and approving the province's strategic health plan, assessing the health status of the province and the impact of the devices on its improvement, formulating a plan for AIDS control and prevention and resolving issues between the health sector and the Supreme Council of Health and Food Security, which was predicted in the fourth development plan of the country at the national level (7), in addition to the Comprehensive Health instructions emphasizing on public participation and cross-sectoral cooperation in order to increase the effectiveness of the said taskforce, one of the pillars of the Comprehensive Health Instructions is the Council of Health Messengers of the departments and organizations taskforces.A messenger is a person who acts as a connector, supporter, and health-oriented consultant for devices to create sensitivity in organizations towards maintaining the health of their employees,environmental health, and the health of consumers about their services and products. They also have another task which is increasing social accountability, helping to effectively monitor projects approved by the specialized Health and food security taskforce, advising managers and decision-makers on evaluating the effects of organizational policies on the health of consumers of services or products of that organization and reviewing the draft approvals are necessary for expression in the work of the specialized taskforce of health and food security of the province.
Therefore, national and provincial policymakers are advised to strengthen the position and empowerment of the Council of Health Messengers through education, support, and promotion of its position and utilize the capacity of this council to realize the important principle of cross-sectoral cooperation in the field of health.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Authors' participation
V.B. and S.H. conceived of the presented idea. V.B. and S.H. wrote the manuscript with support from MH.L. All authors read the manuscript and verified it.