Jakarta, IO – Organization of the hajj journey for the 2023 pilgrims is rife with challenges, mostly because the number of elderly hajj pilgrims (older than 60) is no less than 45% of the 221,000 leaving for the ritual this year. In other words, about 99,450 of our pilgrims heading to the Holy Land this year are seniors.
By 4 June 2023, at 16.00 Saudi time, 71,539 Indonesian pilgrims had arrived there, debarking from 190 flights, with some located in Medina (54,651 pilgrims in 146 flights) while others were in Mecca (16,888 pilgrims in 44 flights).
Of these people, 24,467 pilgrims are undergoing outpatient treatment, with 172 being referred to health facilities in Medina; 1,223 pilgrims undergoing outpatient treatment and 13 are being referred in Mecca; with 502 undergoing outpatient treatment in the airports and 11 being referred. That’s a total of 26,192 pilgrims undergoing outpatient treatment, and 165 others referred to health facilities.
“The Ministry of Religious Affair’s Integrated Hajj Information and Computerization System records the proportion of high-risk hajj pilgrims at 75.37%. Apart from elders, ‘high-risk’ pilgrims means people who are under 60 years of age, but suffering from comorbidities.
Up to the 12th day of pilgrimage, the highest cause of outpatient treatment is fatigue (5,766 pilgrims), followed by hypertension (5,126), upper respiratory tract infection (2,569), myalgia (1,780), and diabetes mellitus (1,128),” reported dr. Liliek Mahaendro Susilo, Head of the Ministry of Health Hajj Health Center, in the “Administering Health Services for the 2023 Hajj Pilgrims” virtual press conference, Monday (5/6/2023).
According to reports submitted by the Ministry of Health hajj health service workers, several elder hajj pilgrims sustained time and space disorientation on arriving at the Holy Land.