The Saudi Ministry of Health has granted an approval for the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to operate two main clinics for the Nigerian pilgrims in Mecca.

NAHCON chief Jalal Arabi disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.

Mr Arabi said the approval letter was received by Abubakar Isma’eel, NAHCON’s head of medical mission for the 2024 Hajj.

“The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) is happy to announce that it has received an approval to operate two main clinics in Makkah for the meantime.

“The Saudi Ministry of Health revealed this development through its medical consultants attached to Ithra Alkhair company, NAHCON’s chosen service provider, otherwise known as Mu’assasa.

“The two main clinics are those located at Masfala/Kudai and Shari’e Al-Mansour areas. They serve as the Medical Head offices,” he said.

Mr Arabi also said approval to start running three other outpost clinics (Triage Outposts 1, 2, 3) was still being awaited. Mr A-Isma’eel expressed optimism that within the next 48-72 hours, the three outposts would also receive full approval to operate optimally.

“The proposed outposts are located at Nasarawa, Ogun, Oyo and Borno pilgrims Houses in Makkah respectively,” Mr Arabi added.

He said that the GPS of the outpost locations would be made available to the Nigerian pilgrims within hours of approval.

“It should be noted that the outposts are strategically situated within pilgrims’ hotel clusters to aid accessibility,” he noted.

He said that NAHCON had already deployed its team of professional medics “who are set to provide healthcare services to Nigerian pilgrims.”

Mr Arabi solicited the cooperation of Nigerian pilgrims for the measures put in place to succeed.

(NAN)