Aleeban Mohanad, Mackey Tim K
Joint Masters Degree Program in Health Policy and Law, University of California San Diego School of Medicine - California Western School of Law, San Diego, CA, USA; King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Joint Masters Degree Program in Health Policy and Law, University of California San Diego School of Medicine - California Western School of Law, San Diego, CA, USA; Department of Anesthesiology, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, CA, USA; Division of Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, CA, USA; Global Health Policy Institute, San Diego, CA, USA.
Front Public Health. 2016 Dec 22;4:280. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2016.00280. eCollection 2016.
Every year on the 12th month of the Islamic calendar, 2-3 million Muslims from over 160 countries migrate to Holy sites in Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj, representing one of the largest mass gathering events worldwide. Yet, the Hajj poses several challenges to global health and public safety, including the unique health risks posed by seasonal variability when Hajj occurs during summer months. Specifically, pilgrims taking the journey to Mecca are at higher risk for heat illnesses, heat-related injuries and exhaustion, and stampedes, when summer temperatures can reach up to 48.7°C. In response, we propose that the Saudi government, in coordination with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the World Health Organization, explore the establishment of an expert committee, create and use a predictive risk modeling tool, and establish a dynamic quota on Hajj visas to limit potential heat exposure for high-risk populations when the Hajj falls on seasons associated with extreme weather exposure. As climate change is projected to lead to future increases in temperatures in the region, this form of dynamic and evidence-based policymaking is needed to ensure human health and safety for generations of Hajj pilgrims to come.
每年伊斯兰教历12月，来自160多个国家的200万至300万穆斯林会前往沙特阿拉伯的圣地进行朝觐，这是全球最大规模的群众集会活动之一。然而，朝觐给全球健康和公共安全带来了诸多挑战，包括朝觐在夏季举行时季节性变化带来的独特健康风险。具体而言，前往麦加的朝圣者面临中暑、热相关伤害和疲惫以及踩踏事件的更高风险，此时夏季气温可达48.7°C。作为应对措施，我们建议沙特政府与伊斯兰合作组织和世界卫生组织协调，探索成立一个专家委员会，创建并使用预测风险建模工具，并对朝觐签证设定动态配额，以便在朝觐适逢与极端天气相关的季节时，限制高风险人群可能遭受的热暴露。由于预计气候变化将导致该地区未来气温上升，需要这种基于证据的动态决策形式，以确保未来几代朝觐朝圣者的人类健康和安全。
