The Public–Private–People partnership (4P) is a significant element in disaster response. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a pandemic has been the worst disaster in the last decades in Iran in terms of exposure and magnitude. In order to respond effectively, the Iranian Government needs an extra capacity, which may be provided by the private sector and people. This study aims to collect evidences of 4P pertaining to the COVID-19 response in Iran from February to April 2020. Partnership case studies are classified into 3 categories: (1) Public–private partnerships; (2) public–people partnerships; and (3) private–people partnerships. It was found that the Iranian Government has removed or diminished some of the barriers to cooperation. There was also more cooperation between the people, the private sector, and the public sector than during normal times (vs disasters). People participated in the response procedure through some associations or groups, such as religious and ethnic communities, as well as through non-governmental organizations. It has been shown that 4P is vital in disaster response and, in particular, to epidemics. The government can be more active in partnerships with the private sector and people in emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Enhancing social capital, institutionalization, and developing required infrastructures by the government will improve public–private partnerships.

Background: The aim of this brief report is to identify the challenges and opportunities of online volunteering to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of the managers of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS).Methods: In this study we have used a qualitative method including semi-structured interviews for investigating the opportunities and challenges of using virtual volunteers. The eligible participants meeting the inclusion criteria for this study were eight IRCS managers who had used online volunteers for COVID-19 pandemic response.Results: Having considered the interviews with IRCS managers, we finally found seven items as opportunities including safety, availability, recruiting more volunteers, cost reduction, participation, geographical scope, and local considerations. Moreover, five items were found as challenges of online volunteering in IRCS including lack of commitment, cultural issues, infrastructure, reimbursement, and volunteer management.Conclusion: Online volunteering is a significant opportunity for humanitarian organizations especially during epidemics like the current COVID-19. Online volunteering for COVID-19 response by the Red Crescent involved a wide range of people including young people, the elderly, people with disabilities and minority groups, and people in rural areas.

An intervention that Iran implemented to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic was to screen passengers during the Iranian New Year holidays (17 March to 3 April 2020). The purpose of this study is to examine the costs and benefits of using volunteers in this program for the Iranian government. Using the cost-benefit analysis method, the national data of the screening program were analyzed. A total of 83,810 volunteers worked on the project for 17 days, which cost $ 27,7811. If the Iranian government had hired permanent employees instead of using volunteers, it would have cost $ 558733 more. It is used wage replacement method for calculating cost of voluntary work using the minimum wage of workers in Iran in 2020. Volunteer Investment and Value Audit (VIVA) rate also showed that $ 2 was saved for every dollar the Iranian government spent. It can be concluded that the use of volunteers, especially in volunteer-oriented programs in times of disaster, including epidemics, can be economically beneficial to the government. At the same time, it should be noted that the use of volunteers is also costly, and the government must identify the optimal number of volunteers before implementation. Moreover, if there are several plans on the table to intervene, the Viva rate can be a measure of cost-effectiveness.

Objective: COVID-19 screening stations set up by Iranian Red Crescent Society have been available for seventeen days with the aim of identifying and treating people with coronavirus, reducing road trips, and sensitizing people to the problem. This study aims to investigate the challenges of the procedure. Methods: A qualitative study was used to find the challenges of the COVID-19 screening centers. Volunteers, branch managers, and headquarter managers of the Iranian Red Crescent Society participated in this study applying snowball sampling. Data were collected via in-depth semi-structured telephone interviews in April 2020 after completion of the fever screening plan. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, always with prior permission of interviewees. Results: The interviews with 20 participants in the plan indicated six relevant challenges including logistics, lack of planning, lack of coordination, legal challenges, mental health, and ethical challenges. Conclusions: The results indicated that although establishing fever detection centers in Iran was a rapid response to COVID-19, it had significant flaws in the structure and adversely affected volunteers and staffs’ health and financial resources. Therefore, well-structured protocols are required for similar responses in the future.

INTRODUCTION: The present article aimed to study field observations of the 2017 Sefid Sang earthquake, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran, measuring 6 on the Richter scale with the approach of assessing the behaviors and performing a short analysis on the rescue and relief operations. METHODS: This qualitative study has followed the conceptual analysis approach to research. The sample population was selected with purposive sampling technique from the affected villages of Brashak, Karghash Olya, Drakht Bid, Kelate Menar, Kelate Hajikar, Kharzar, and Chah Mazar to study the behavior and knowledge of the affected people. A goal-based sampling was also applied among the operational managers who were directly engaged in the relief and rescue operations. This research benefited the focus group’s viewpoints. The necessary data were gathered from the answers given to the open questions. The process of research data analysis was in the light of phases proposed by Granheim and Lanman. FINDINGS: The results of this study showed that the disaster preparedness index coefficient among the residents of affected and surrounding villages was low which seriously required enhancement. It was also found out the affected people lacked necessary awareness about general training on the subject of disaster resiliency. Although Red Crescent’s role of disaster response in the context of implementation had been effective, it was found that its other roles of advocacy and support could be more effective than its implementation role. CONCLUSION: Observation also showed that cultural diversity was being observed and respected by rescue and relief workers; however, such a critical issue was not observed and respected the same by other organizations, consequently aggravating the cooperation and coordination atmosphere