Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health Kunta Wibawa Dasa Nugraha urged 98 Hajj officers serving Indonesian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia to help in reducing the relatively high death rate among prospective pilgrims.

"Those Hajj officers carry a great and noble responsibility to maintain the health of Indonesian pilgrims. I hope they would be able to reduce the death rate of Indonesian pilgrims in the Holy Land," Nugraha stated in a press release on Wednesday.

Based on data evaluation from the organization of Hajj pilgrimage in the last 15 years, the death rate among Indonesian pilgrims was relatively high, ranging from two people per one thousand pilgrims per year, or around 300 to 400 people from a quota of 220 thousand people per year, he remarked.

The Ministry of Health has identified the cause of the high death rate among Indonesian pilgrims. Based on medical records, the death of pilgrims was due to two main factors: age and behavior.

"This behavior causes the pilgrims to get exhausted since their physical condition cannot keep up with the worship ritual, especially for the elderly," Nugraha pointed out.

To this end, he reminded Hajj health workers to provide health services, especially for high-risk groups, such as the elderly and people with comorbidities.

For instance, Hajj officers should be able to participate in preventive promotive efforts by providing education and disseminating information about healthy lifestyles and COVID-19 prevention as well as providing curative and rehabilitative services to Hajj pilgrims.

Nugraha also reminded all Hajj officers to be vigilant amid the COVID-19 situation in Saudi Arabia by always implementing health protocols during Hajj activities.

In addition to focusing on assisting and serving pilgrims, Nugraha advised Hajj officers to not neglect their own health.

Indonesia will dispatch 98 health workers from various service sectors. Currently, they are undergoing competency training and operational planning for Hajj officers in Jakarta.

The Hajj officer will accompany around 100,051 pilgrims in the Holy Land. This figure is half of the Hajj quota for Indonesia before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Hajj officer was selected through the recruitment selection process for the Saudi Arabia Hajj Organizing Committee (PPIH) in 2022.

The first batch of training will be held on May 10-12, 2022; the second batch on May 12-15, 2022; and the third or final batch on May 22-25, 2022.

Source: https://en.antaranews.com/news/228873/hajj-officers-should-reduce-pilgrims-high-mortality-rate-ministry