The Ministry of Health, in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO), will organize the second international mass gathering medicine conference in Riyadh next month, according to Health Minister Dr. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Rabeeah.

“The conference will be held under the auspices of the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah,” he said.

Expressing his appreciation for the support lent by the king to health care, which is meant to preserve citizens’ health and safety, the minister said in a statement recently, “I would like to extend heartfelt thanks and profound gratitude to the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques for patronizing this conference, which shows his keen interest in and concern about the health sector.”

The Health Ministry said on Tuesday that the conference, set to start Sept. 21, is expected to be attended by the Secretary General of the Arab League, the Secretary General of the GCC and the Director-General of WHO.

It will also be attended by the health ministers of GCC countries and the director of the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, besides health ministers of the USA, France, Cuba, Canada, Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia, South Korea, and members of the International Advisory Board, as well as experts and scholars from all over the world, in addition to representatives of numerous international and regional institutions and organizations.

The conference, which aims to take a closer look at the academic and empirical experiences formerly acquired at similar conferences, is also expected to enhance the efficiency of health procedures taken to handle human gatherings during Haj and Umrah seasons.

Among the objectives set for the conference is to review the Kingdom’s experience during Haj seasons given the fact that it is an extraordinary experience involving over two million pilgrims in a limited space and specific period of time, which makes it a model to be followed.

The first international mass gathering medicine conference was held in Jeddah in 2010, which proposed the establishment of an international reference agency for mass gathering health with headquarters in the Kingdom.

The strategies discussed during the meeting and implemented at a later stage helped in making the Haj easier, including applying health regulations during mass gatherings and the management of public health risk during the pilgrimage.

The health minister has given his orders to form a committee headed by the deputy minister for public health to oversee the organization of and preparation for the conference.

The committee will include representatives from ministries and other authorities.

There will also be sub-committees headed by Ministry of Health officials.