title: World's largest gathering. Muslim mass pilgrimage poses EMS logistical & planning challenges.
abstract: The Hajj is a "mega-gathering" event attended yearly by millions of Muslims from across the world. Planning, communications and logistical support are the foundations of its success. EMS systems and major event planners throughout the world can learn from studying the special challenges involved with managing such a large multilingual, multicultural crowd. Current studies predict that by 2020 there will be more than 10 million pilgrims in attendance for the event. New construction and supportive infrastructures are already underway to meet the ever-growing needs of the pilgrims. With the improvement of systems and design, there is already a steady decrease in the number of accidents and requests for help. Continuous monitoring of emerging health situations ensures that a simple case of the flu does not become a worldwide epidemic. There will always be a need for emergent care during the Hajj and the Saudi Red Crescent Authority and supportive agencies will be ready to serve those who come to participate.
authors.affiliation: Saudi Red Crescent Authority. EMSadviser@gmail.com
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: D'Alessandro
authors.affiliation: Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz College for EMS at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Leggio
authors.forename: Hisham
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Al Mubaireek
mesh_terms: D004189:Disaster Planning; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam; D012307:Risk Factors; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D014195:Travel