RIYADH —The World Health Organization has congratulated the Kingdom and the Ministry of Health in particular for ensuring a disease-free Haj season. A message from the WHO to Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeah said: “[The low rate of infections] was a result of the ministry's expertise and those of other health providers who have had years of success running the pilgrims' health affairs and managing large crowds, despite the continuous increase in their numbers.” Ministry spokesman Dr. Khalid Marghalani told Saudi Gazette that the WHO's praise reflects the genuine goodwill toward the Kingdom who, through the Ministry of Health and other governmental healthcare providers from the Armed Forces and National Guard, have mobilized huge resources for this annual event. He added: “Think of over 22,000 healthcare personnel, around 25 hospitals with over 5,000 beds, at least 141 primary healthcare centers and a whole medical city (the King Abdullah Medical City) in Makkah, which were all put at the disposal of pilgrims. Isn't that a huge amount of resources? “The ministry this year has achieved a remarkable performance in providing healthcare services to pilgrims. “It served over 504,000 pilgrims, provided its service in the field to over 16,000 pilgrims, admitted over 4,500 pilgrims and conducted 3,112 dialysis sessions, 463 catheterization procedures and 42 open heart surgeries.” He said the Kingdom will not spare any efforts or resources for the well being of pilgrims as they are the guests of Allah first and guests of the Kingdom second.
