“This assurance was necessitated by unconfirmed concerns following media reports over a covid-19 claim by certain countries.”
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has said Nigerian pilgrims are returning home in good health after participating in the Hajj 2024 exercise.
” NAHCON can confirm that Nigerian pilgrims are returning in good health, with no recorded cases of Covid-19 either in the Kingdom or upon arrival in Nigeria,” Hajia Fatima Sanda Usara,Assistant Director Public Affairs, said in a press statement while giving updates on the ongoing airlift of Nigerian pilgrims back home.
Usara said in the press statement that “The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) is pleased to announce that the ongoing airlift of Nigerian pilgrims back to the country has been recording success following the First-in-First-Out (FIFO) arrangement.
“As of the evening of Tuesday, 2nd July 2023, significant progress has been made with pilgrims from Nasarawa, Kogi, Oyo, Edo, Plateau states and Armed Forces having all safely returned to Nigeria. Meanwhile, Bauchi has 41 pilgrims left to conclude its airlift, Yobe has 34, Lagos with 144, and Kebbi has 236 remnants to conclude.
“Similarly, states such as Kaduna, Kano, Borno, Kwara, Ogun, pilgrims are also returning in accordance with the FIFO formula. However, Zamfara, Katsina, Adamawa, Taraba, Sokoto, Gombe, and the South-South states are scheduled to begin airlift soon.”
She also said that “NAHCON can confirm that Nigerian pilgrims are returning in good health, with no recorded cases of Covid-19 either in the Kingdom or upon arrival in Nigeria. Recall that all pilgrims had been vaccinated against Covid-19 in accordance with World Health Organization standards during the pandemic days and had received vaccination before the airlift to the Kingdom against other diseases. Therefore, it may be safe to describe Nigerian pilgrims as having attained herd immunity against Covid-19. Moreover, the Saudi Ministry of Health has been very stringent on all infectious diseases; such that all pilgrims are automatically screened for Covid-19 and Malaria before admission into Saudi hospitals.”
The Commission’s spokesperson noted that “Statistics shows that more than 95% of Nigeria’s pilgrims who lost their lives in Saudi hospitals died from effects of Heat Stroke, Trauma/RTA, fall from height, and majority of other acute exacerbation of multiple comorbidities mainly Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs),” adding that “NAHCON is working closely with Federal Ministry of Health in ensuring health security of Nigerian citizens. This assurance was necessitated by unconfirmed concerns following media reports over a covid-19 claim by certain countries. Besides, NAHCON has confidence in Saudi Arabia’s rigorous health precautions and on Nigeria’s Port Health authorities’ measures.”
She recalled that “Interestingly, the Commission, in collaboration with Ithra al Khair service providers, had distributed face masks and personal hygiene kits to Nigerian pilgrims in Muna as part of their welfare package due to normally high prevalence of respiratory diseases during the Muna outing. NAHCON therefore advises pilgrims and their families to remain calm and disregard misinformation.”
In the meantime, a comparative analysis between inbound airlift into Saudi Arabia and outbound flights back to Nigeria after 10 days shows noticeable progress. During the first leg of the 2024 Hajj airlift, 17, 639 pilgrims (34.7 %) was the total number of pilgrims flown into the Kingdom after 10 days, thereby indicating an improvement with 18, 326 pilgrims (36%) back into Nigeria within 10 days of the return journey home. According to records by NAHCON’s Command and Control Team, 21,085 pilgrims are safely back in Nigeria as at the time of filing this report, with an average of four flights daily. In the coming days, the slots are expected to increase considering reduced pressure on the King Abdul Aziz International Airport Jeddah.
Data from the Command and Control shows Max air has so far airlifted 8,759 pilgrims to Nigeria out of 23,784 pilgrims assigned to it. FlyNas has conveyed 8,186 of its 19,785 pilgrims. Meanwhile, Air Peace has returned 3,303 pilgrims to Nigeria out of 7,296 pilgrims allocated to it.
The return journey is expected to end by 19 July 2024.
