Establishing Medical Coverage and Epidemiological Surveillance during the Grand Magal of Touba in Senegal: A Public Health Need.

The Grand Magal is a religious pilgrimage that takes place in Senegal. An estimated 4-5 million individuals yearly gather in the holy city of Touba. Pilgrims comes from the whole Senegal and surrounding countries and from countries outside of Africa where Mouride Senegalese emigrated. It is the largest Mass Gathering (MG) event of the Mouride community and the largest Muslim religious MG in West Africa. The context of the Grand Magal MG is unique given its location in a tropical developing country and its international component which may favour the globalization of local endemic diseases and warrants investment in modern methods for public health surveillance and planning of the event.