The primary healthcare sector of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is set to launch a Haj awareness campaign to educate pilgrims on the precautions they need to take before and during the pilgrimage.

The campaign will be launched on September 12 during the live DHA twitter clinic and will later be rolled out across all 14 DHA primary healthcare centres, several Dubai Government entities such as Dubai Customs, Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Dubai Diabetes Centres and Hatta Hospital, said a statement.

Dr Ahmad bin Kalban, CEO of primary healthcare sector at the DHA, said: “The aim of the campaign is to provide health information to pilgrims about the do’s and don’ts when they undertake this pilgrimage. Simple precautions taken by pilgrims can protect their health and that’s the message we want to advocate through this campaign.”

Kalban said that DHA will distribute several health education booklets during these campaigns so that pilgrims can avoid health risks.

The DHA has stocked up all vaccines required for Haj pilgrims across its health centres and traveller’s clinic and is advising all pilgrims to ensure they obtain the necessary vaccines before they travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he said.

Dr Fatima Al Attar, head of preventive services, said that it is imperative for pilgrims to get vaccinated at least two weeks before they enter Saudi Arabia to perform the pilgrimage.

She also highlighted that because of the risk of certain respiratory diseases, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health has recommended that the following groups should postpone their plans for Haj and Umrah this year: people over 65 years old, children under 12 years old, pregnant women, people with cancer or terminal illnesses and people with chronic diseases. - TradeArabia News Service