Hajj and Umrah - kalenmok11’s diary

The Hajj and Umrah religious mass gatherings take place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and are attended each year by over 10 million Muslim pilgrims from over 180 different countries. In accordance with the Saudi Vision 2030, the number of pilgrims is expected to increase significantly in the coming years to reach 30 million for Umrah visitors alone by 2030. Umrah offers a unique opportunity to study a mass gathering that received little scientific interest so far and to conduct health research in a flexible and research friendly environment. Health research initiatives into Hajj and Umrah should be encouraged so that knowledge and experiences generated could be used to optimize planning and delivery of effective public health services during these events as well as other mass gatherings worldwide.umrah packages

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines “mass gatherings” as events attended by a sufficient number of people to potentially strain the planning and response resources of the community, city or nation hosting the event.1 Examples of such events include the “Hajj” and “Umrah” religious mass gatherings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The Hajj is one of the largest and most geographically, ethnically, and culturally diverse mass gatherings in the world, annually attended by more than 2 million pilgrims from over 180 different countries. The number of pilgrims attending Hajj has been gradually increasing over the years but reduced in the years 2013-2015 as limited permits were granted due to construction work to expand the Sacred Mosque. Once the expansion work will finish, the number of pilgrims attending Hajj is expected to more than double in the coming few years. The Hajj rituals officially start on the 8th day of the 12th month of the lunar Islamic calendar called “Dhul-Hijjah”, but most pilgrims arrive to Mecca few days or weeks earlier. As the lunar calendar lags behind the solar calendar by approximately 10 days every Gregorian year, Hajj falls in different parts of the Gregorian calendar each year. Mecca is also the setting for the Umrah ritual, now performed almost all year-round. The Saudi investment in the expansion of the Two Holy Mosques and enhancement of public infrastructures and services, coupled with improved international travel, rendered Umrah very congested, especially in certain months such as the Holy month of Ramadan. The number of foreign Umrah visitors has increased significantly in the last decade, reaching over 6 million in 2016 . It is expected that the number of Umrah pilgrims from outside KSA to start routinely reaching over 1 million per month for many months of the year. In lines with the Saudi Vision 2030, the Umrah is set to become a mass gathering of major importance and consequence for the Kingdom and internationally. According to the vision, by increasing capacity and improving quality of services offered to Umrah visitors, the number of foreign visitors performing Umrah is expected to reach 15 million annually by 2020 and 30 million by 2030. This means that by 2030, Saudi Arabia will be hosting each year nearly as many Umrah visitors as its own entire population. There are no accurate estimations of the yearly number of pilgrims performing Umrah from within the Kingdom as no specific permits are required to perform Umrah for those already in KSA. Unlike Hajj, most of the Umrah rituals take place within the Sacred Mosque in Mecca and can be performed within few hours. However, many international pilgrims tend to take advantage of the 2-week Umrah visa and stay for many days in Mecca and visit other Holy sites.