‘Seek medical clearance before Hajj’

Ghanaian Muslims have been advised to seek medical clearance before embarking on the holy pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The advice, which was given by the Medical Director of the Ghana Hajj Board, Dr Zakaria Seidu, was informed by the death of two pilgrims and a miscarriage by another during this year's Hajj.

Dr Seidu stated that some of the deaths and medical emergencies involving members of Ghana's contingent of 6,000 pilgrims could have been avoided if they had sought medical advice before the pilgrimage.

He gave the admonishment moments after the last batch of Ghanaian pilgrims to the Hajj totalling 472 disembarked from their Boeing 747-400 aircraft yesterday at the Kotoka International Airport.

"Medically, the Hajj is a very strenuous activity which lasts just over a month, so you must know your health status before attempting it," he said.

"The major challenge we had health-wise had to do with respiratory tract infections, which resulted from the congestion of persons during the Hajj rituals, we guarded against this by providing face masks for all the Ghanaian pilgrims, Dr Seidu added.

"However, two male pilgrims aged over 60 years died. One collapsed and died during the Tawaf ritual, while another died after performing all the rituals," he said.

He also lamented that 120 women in various stages of pregnancy went on the trip, advising that women must know their fertility status before embarking on the Hajj.

Dr Seidu disclosed that a pilgrim was treated and discharged after suffering appendicitis, while one woman gave birth to a baby boy after going into labour, with another suffering miscarriage.

Providing a spiritual basis for the caution, the Welfare Chairman of the Ghana Hajj Board, Sheikh Amin Bonsu, said Islam permitted younger persons to perform the Hajj on behalf of the aged.

2019 Hajj resounding success

The Chairman of the Hajj Board, Sheikh Ibrahim Cudjoe Quaye, said this year's pilgrimage was a resounding success given that it was devoid of complaints about accommodation and feeding.

He said Ghana's medical team operated eight clinics in Madinah, Mecca, Arafat and Mina, adding that at a point Ghana's medical services were extended to non-Ghanaians from Burkina Faso, Niger, Togo and Mali.

"No words can completely tell what happened at the Hajj because everybody was happy. Witnesses are here about the VIP hotels the pilgrims were lodged in. There were a variety of dishes and dessert and no pilgrim can claim scarcity of food during this Hajj," he said.

Mr Quaye stated that the Hajj Board would in the coming weeks hold a press briefing and provide a detailed briefing on their stewardship of the 2019 Hajj.

Cost of Hajj

Each of the pilgrims paid a fare of GH¢19,500, an equivalent of $3,000 before embarking on the journey.

The fare announced by the Pilgrims Affairs Office of Ghana and the Hajj Agents Association in February represented a 23 per cent (GH¢ 4,500) increase on last year's figure which was GH¢15,000.