Haj awareness drive to be conducted on e-channels

HEALTH CAMPAIGN: Dr. Hussein Ghannam, general supervisor of the general directorate of health affairs for Haj and Umrah, presides at a meeting at the Ministry of Health headquarters in Riyadh on Tuesday. (AN photo)

RIYADH: The Haj committee of the Ministry of Health (MoH) has chalked out a comprehensive plan this year to intensify its awareness campaign among this year’s pilgrims through electronic channels.

The detailed plan was discussed at a meeting held under the chairmanship of Dr. Hussein Ghannam, general supervisor of the general directorate of health affairs for Haj and Umrah at the MoH headquarters in Riyadh on Tuesday.
Heads of various Haj committees and Haj central committees in Makkah and Madinah and officials from King Abdullah Medical City were present at the meeting to review the planned electronic programs that would be disseminated among the pilgrims.
This year, the awareness will be focused on a number of topics, including sunstrokes, the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and chronic health diseases that are likely to be found among pilgrims.
Among pilgrims, diagnosed cases of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma, arthritis, migraine, epilepsy, skin diseases, psychiatric illnesses and gastric ulcer should be properly controlled with appropriate treatment.
It was also decided to form an Emergency Committee to focus on three demarcated areas such as the central region, the center of the holy sites in Arafat, Mina and Muzdalifah, and Makkah.
The distribution of health workers in the holy sites were also discussed. The ministry recruits more than 22,000 people from various medical, technical, administrative categories for the Haj season every year.
The officials will also include some 400 medics in rare medical disciplines including intensive care, breathing catheter and treatment as well as nursing intensive care and emergencies.
Last year, the Ministry of Health health provided therapeutic services for more than 405,542 pilgrims during the Haj season. It has also supervised 1.3 million arrivals for the pilgrimage through the 15 ports of entry by land, sea and air. The season witnessed 22 open-heart surgeries, 668 catheterizations, 2,213 dialysis sessions, in addition 31 endoscopy procedures.
In addition to the hospitals, there are 80 primary health care centers in Arafat, Mina and Muzdalifah ready to receive pilgrims during the Haj.
The centers include 28 in Mina, 46 in Arafat and six in Muzdalifah.
An official said that there is an integrated health plan to cover all areas of health in places frequented by the pilgrims.
Health officials will be deployed at 15 ports of entry via land,sea and air, to monitor the entry of Haj pilgrims during this season. “They are expected to take preventive and curative measures to keep infections under control.”
He said that the health officials detailed at the ports of entry would ensure the pilgrims had already taken the vaccination from their ports of origin, as advised before .
“If they have not taken vaccination before, relevant doses will be given to them at the ports of entry so that they would be fortified with immunity against the respective diseases,” the official said.