108 Congregants Died, Government Evaluated And United Hajj Health Services

An ambulance stopped in a hotel area in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (ANTARA)

The Ministry of Health stated that one of the strategies to reduce the death rate of pilgrims, especially during the peak of worship in Arafah, Muzdalifah, and Mina (Armuzna), was to unite Hajj health workers from the Saudi Arabia Hajj Organizing Committee (PPIH) with Hajj Kloter Health Workers (TKHK).

The strategy is to unite PPIH which will be divided into eight markazes or maktab. Specialist doctors will be on standby in each of these markers. Doctors and nurses will be seconded to a markaz whose number of TKHK is small but there are many congregants," said the Director General of Health Human Resources, Yuli Farianti, Tuesday, June 3, quoted from Antara.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM), Taruna Ikrar, who is also a member of Tim Amirul Hajj, expressed his concern about the high number of congregational deaths this year.

Currently, 108 pilgrims have died, even though the peak of the hajj has not yet started. This figure is higher than the same period last year," he said.

He encouraged all potential health services owned by Indonesia to be optimized for the safety of the congregation.

"In a situation like this, it is impossible for a limited number of local health workers to be able to serve millions of worshipers. Therefore, it is very appropriate for the Indonesian government to bring its own medical personnel to assist the congregation," he said.

However, he also highlighted obstacles in the field, especially regarding the operational permits of Indonesian medical officers and health care facilities in Saudi Arabia.

"According to the rules, health services and medical personnel in other countries must have an operational permit from the local authorities. This is an obstacle at the Indonesian Hajj Health Clinic (KKHI), which makes services not optimal," he said.

The cadets said that many pilgrims died at the hotel because they were sick, felt stressed if they had to be referred to a local hospital that was foreign to them, both in terms of language and the environment.

"Therefore, I and Tim Amirul Hajj will seek direct talks with the Minister of Hajj and the Minister of Health of Saudi Arabia to find solutions to this problem," he said.