TEHRAN –Since the beginning of the Arbaeen pilgrimage on July 26 till August 9, the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Organization has offered 682,278 educational and healthcare services to the pilgrims.

The Arbaeen pilgrimage, which is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, comes 40 days after Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Imam of Shia Muslims, and the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Each year, a huge crowd of people flocks to Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located, to perform mourning rituals. This year it falls on August 14.

The EMS Organization has provided medical and prehospital care to 50,468 individuals, preventive health services to 555,849 people, and educational services to 75,961 others so far, IRNA reported.

During the same period, EMS experts also visited 40,974 injured pilgrims and patients, transferring 1,997 to medical centers and treating 38,977 others at their places.

Health teams are providing services at 9 border terminals; they monitor environmental health, sanitation, safe water, food, and communicable diseases, as well. The services are scheduled to run till August 24.

This year, the health ministry has dispatched a team of Persian medicine experts to provide health services to people during the Arbaeen pilgrimage.

The team includes physicians, masseurs, nurses, and translators, the health ministry’s website reported.

To improve the quality of services, the Iranian Traditional Medicine Association has held specialized training courses for the health staff. These include learning the Arabic language to facilitate communication, and pain management using massage and acupuncture. 

The team will distribute some 5,000 health packages, involving ointments, oils, and sachets of herbs, among pilgrims to help them avoid common health problems during the walk.

Intl. Congress on “Health in Arbaeen” 

The 5th International Congress on “Health in Arbaeen” was held in Tehran from May 26 to 27 with the participation of six countries.

This year’s event brought together participants as well as 24 international lecturers from Italy, Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, IRNA reported. 

“The main goal of the congress is to make physicians familiar with the issues of health care and treatment during the Arbaeen pilgrimage. It mainly focuses on endemic diseases that may spread by Afghan and Pakistani pilgrims who pass Iran on their way to Iraq,” IRNA quoted Abdolreza Pazoki, an official with the health ministry, as saying.

They also discussed guidelines for treating skin, musculoskeletal, and other diseases, as well as needed medicines and medical equipment.

The same as previous years, medical universities on the borders will monitor infectious diseases by taking preventive measures.

MT/MG