ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Hajj Medical Mission wrapped up its operations in Saudi Arabia this week after treating over 169,000 pilgrims in the kingdom, the mission’s director confirmed on Sunday. 

Over 160,000 Pakistanis attended this year’s annual Hajj pilgrimage, which ran from June 14-19. Pakistan established two hospitals and 11 dispensaries in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah on May 9. 

“The Pakistan Hajj Medical Mission completed its operations in Saudi Arabia on July 20, and since the start of services on May 9 this year, almost 169,000 pilgrims received free health treatment,” Brig. Jamil Ahmed Lakhair, the mission’s director, told Arab News over the phone from Makkah.

Lakhair said that out of the total number of patients, at least 60 percent were male while 40 percent were women. He said the mission also provided services to pilgrims from other countries who sought medical assistance.

Lakhair said a dedicated team of over 400 members from the medical mission tirelessly performed their duties to assist Pakistani pilgrims in Saudi Arabia during the annual Islamic pilgrimage.

“More than 19000 lab tests were done on almost 4000 patients and around 5000 patients availed dental treatment facilities, including minor procedures,” he revealed. Lakhair said over 3,000 patients availed radiological facilities, including ultrasound, at the hospital.

The Pakistani official credited the Saudi government for ensuring excellent medical facilities, praising their robust patient evacuation system and well-equipped hospitals, adding that Pakistan’s medical mission helped pilgrims access these facilities.

“Two hundred and fifty patients treated in tertiary care facilities of the kingdom’s hospitals as indoor cases,” Lakhair said. 

He shared that over 12,000 pilgrims were treated as emergency cases while 188 bed-ridden patients were taken to Arafat for Hajj rituals in ambulances and buses.

He said respiratory tract infections and musculoskeletal problems were the most common among pilgrims, accounting for 18 percent of the total cases, followed by gastrointestinal problems at 12 percent, diabetes mellitus at 11 percent, unspecified fever at 9 percent, and cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension and ischemic heart diseases, at 5 percent