Jakarta, NU Online
The Health Ministry is tightening its health screenings of those making the hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia as the last remaining batches are flown to the gulf kingdom.<>
Tjandra Yoga Aditama, the ministry’s director general for disease control and environmental health, said the ministry’s office at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the main gateway for Jakarta, has been asked to take a number of steps to monitor the pilgrims’ health and hygiene.
The steps include monitoring the food catered to the pilgrims, disinfecting the airplanes and conducting random health samplings on the pilgrims.
Tjandra said during the embarkation period a total of 4,554 pilgrims had been treated at the ministry’s health clinics, with 333 cases in which pilgrims were taken to better-equipped health centers.
Soekarno-Hatta is given more attention, the ministry official said, because nearly 60 percent of Indonesian pilgrims pass through the airport, making it a vulnerable spot for the spreading of diseases.
Several pilgrims have also been denied permission to perform the hajj due to serious illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and stroke, while one woman had to cancel her pilgrimage because she was pregnant.
Tjandra said pilgrims with a history of medical problems should immediately seek information about health centers near the various places spread between the Saudi towns of Mecca and Medina where pilgrims must perform specific rituals.
The ministry, he said, had also erected health posts in Arafah and Mina, where the Indonesian government hosts the nation’s pilgrims.
“Know the markings indicating [Indonesian] health posts and also other health posts available and consult with the batch’s health officials about the preparation needed,” he said as quoted by the Jakarta Globe.
“For pilgrims already reaching Saudi Arabia, with the culmination of the hajj nearing … health preparations must be of high priority.”
Tjandra said experience had shown that some Indonesians aren’t able to cope with Saudi Arabia’s extreme climate, a particular concern when traveling significant distances between pilgrimage locations.
Another health hazard is overcrowding in areas like Mina, where the stoning of the devil ritual takes place each year. The latest incident in Mina occurred in 2006, when 346 pilgrims were killed in a stampede.
“Other problems that might arise are fatigue and the return of illnesses already suffered by the pilgrims in Indonesia,” he said.
Vice President Boediono and his wife Herawati are among those participating in this year’s pilgrimage, with the couple departing on Sunday.
The peak of this year’s pilgrimage will fall on Friday.
Editor : Sudarto Murtaufiq