RIYADH, 26 October 2005 — Saudi women have shown more interest than men in getting health information through the “Hello Ramadan” program which came to a close yesterday.

Minister of Health Dr. Hamad Al-Manie inaugurated the program on the first day of Ramadan. The program allowed people to access health information by phone and fax.

The Health Awareness Information Center at the ministry deployed a team of specialized women doctors to reply queries on health issues related to Ramadan. It received more than 500 calls a day.

“Eighty percent of the callers were women,” said Amal Moawiya Abu Al-Jedaiel, the supervisor general of the center. Saudi women took the opportunity to get their health questions answered in strict privacy, she said. “A benefit of the program is the caller could spend more time with the doctor to answer all his or her queries.”

The supervisor said most of the questions related to diabetes, hypertension and obesity. The callers enquired about the intake of their regular medicines and seeking advice to help them reduce their weight during this Ramadan. “Pregnant and feeding mothers were anxious to know the healthy diet patterns that would not affect their children born and unborn.”

Answering questions from people who were undertaking Umrah during the holy month, Amal stressed that they should follow the medical advice given by their doctors strictly. Pilgrims should be mindful of their food and avoid congestion in the crowd. “Abstain from eating food prepared on the wayside,” she recommended. “And look after personal hygiene when in such large groups.”

2.89m Umrah Visas

The largest number of Umrah pilgrims this year came from Egypt as Saudi missions in the country issued 654,537 visas to Egyptian pilgrims, said Ibrahim Al-Kharashi, undersecretary for consulate affairs at the Foreign Ministry. He said the ministry had issued a total of 2.89 million Umrah visas during the last nine months. “This is 11 percent more than last year’s 2.6 million,” he added. He said Pakistanis were the second largest beneficiaries as they received 361,937 visas.