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WHO discusses haj preparation for first time
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Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims pray outside Namira Mosque in Arafat near the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during the annual haj in September last year. (AP/Nariman El-Mofty)
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or the first time in its history, the World Health Organization (WHO) has held a meeting to discuss health concerns on the annual haj.
The discussion was one of the topics in the international consultations on mass gathering preparedness and management being held in Jakarta on Feb. 21-22.
The meeting is being attended by WHO country members in Southeast Asia and the eastern Mediterranean region: Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Thailand.
“We have to look at existing experiences. We have to keep improving our policies and practices. It’s because the Health Ministry is responsible for health on the haj, whether before, during or after,” the Health Ministry’s expert staffer on health technology and globalization, Slamet, said during his opening speech on Tuesday.
WHO eastern Mediterranean regional office representative Mamunur Rahman Malik said that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia had formulated various health policies based on existing evidence.
All countries had to share information on health conditions so that Saudi Arabia could formulate better health policies, he noted. (evi)
