• 30 pilgrims down with mental illnesses
• Medical team pledges utmost care to reduce casualty rates
Since the arrival of Nigerian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia on May 26, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) Medical Mission has recorded a total number of 15,860 medical consultations.
The revelation on the medical consultation in the last one month was disclosed by NAHCON’s head of medical team, Dr Galadima Usman, at a pre-Arafah meeting in Makkah on Saturday night.
The meeting had in attendance Chairman of NAHCON, Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan, Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alhaji Yahaya Lawal, commissioners of NAHCON, senior management staff of the commission among other stakeholders.
Dr. Galadima reported in his PowerPoint presentation that as of Saturday, June 24, six deaths of Nigerian pilgrims have been confirmed at their facility, adding that eight communicable diseases, thirty psychiatric cases and seven pilgrims with pregnancies have also been recorded.
The head of the medical team was, however, quick to say that all the cases are being managed to ensure the patients perform their Hajj rites successfully.
Dr. Galadima also noted that the medical team is passionate about ensuring the reduction of casualty rate among Nigerian pilgrims.
“We have seen that there is increased morbidity and even mortality in the Kingdom. And this is because of the stress the performance of hajj puts on the body. That is why we are here. We are trying as much as possible to assist as many people as possible. We take care of them. Those we can handle in our own facilities, we do. And those we cannot, we take them outside. Particularly for pregnant women, we want to organise antenatal care for them because they are already here and it’s our responsibility to take care of their health.”
He said the team comprises psychiatrists who manage the mental health patients.
“We refer to them as mental health patients. We have been managing them in our facilities. We have about 4 psychiatrists (doctors) in the team. We also have nurses. So we have been managing them. All of them will likely perform hajj because they are a bit stable now.”
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