The Ministry of Health has confirmed that all pilgrims will be required to produce vaccination certificates for both yellow fever and meningitis prior to being granted entry into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the upcoming 1425 Hajj. Pilgrims will be thoroughly inspected on arrival, and if necessary provided with vaccinations. Any suspected cases that are diagnosed at the entry points will be sent immediately to a local hospital. Particular attention will be paid to pilgrims coming from 32 African and 13 Latin American countries that are identified as endemic for these diseases, based on World Health Organization (WHO) reports.

The Ministry has also made arrangements to screen pilgrims for other infectious diseases such as Rift Valley Fever and SARS. Teams will be dispatched to the holy sites to monitor the overall health situation and assess aspects such as sanitation. In addition, effective health education programs are being organized: educational pamphlets will be distributed in several languages to inform pilgrims about basic health regulations, and mobile teams will visit the camps to publicize health messages using audio visual aids.

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