Members of the Hajj board have landed in Bolgatanga, the Upper East Regional capital to take Hajj pilgrims through comprehensive orientation ahead of their departure to the holy land in Makkah of Saudi Arabia. The orientation has to do with what they should expect in terms of how they will board their flight and the preparation they need to make before they board their flight, it also has to do with the Dawaah team, and how they will go about the rituals in the accepted manner prescribed by the holy prophet Mohammed. It also has to do with how they will manage and maintain their health throughout the rituals and return to Ghana without any form of medical issues around them. Meanwhile, speaking to the media, the Medical Director in charge of the Hajj operation Dr. Zakaria Seidu said his interest has to do with the health status of pilgrims or prospective pilgrims, more especially regarding those that are already having health issues such as Hypertension, asthma, cardiovascular disease and what have you. “We are kind of trying to develop a comprehensive health education that will enable them to avoid health crisis, we also include what we call the medical screening, where we screen all the prospective pilgrims to rule out any other health issues in them”. He further revealed that they are able to identify some participants that were already undergoing some medical treatment for hypertension, diabetes, and so on. “We insisted that they start to have a regular medical checkup and also to ensure that before traveling, they will go for a medical review”. “Some of them we have identified having hypertension or diabetes as we go through the screening today, we were able to get them first aid right here and later refer them to nearby health facilities. We also pick their contacts and give them introduction letters to their nearby health facilities” He explained The Secretary of Dawaah community Abdul Aziz Harun said, the orientation of pilgrims is important because some of them have not gone to Makkah for the first time, and is important they are told what they need to know medically and Islamically to enable a smooth Hajj journey. However, the secretary also pointed out that, on every flight that will be flying to Makkah, a Dawaah person will be on board to continue guiding the pilgrims till the end of the exercise. A member of the Hajj Board,  Hajia Azara Haroun also told the media that, have brought a lot of innovations to the Hajj Board, by ensuring that every year some improvements are made to ensure that the pilgrims are satisfied with the trip. According to Hajia Azara, going to the Hajj is not just about a successful Hajj even though, it is the most important thing, but it is about building relationships. “We know as the last pillar of Islam, when you come back you will indeed be grateful to Allah for having gone because you have made a lot of good friends, you have learned a lot more about Islam and you would have been peaceful at heart”. Responding to issues regarding women in their menstrual circle, Hajia Azara said: “Women are classified into various stages from birth to old age and some people actually carry younger children to Hajj as women. So, we have been able to advise them as to how to manage their children, how to manage their health, how to manage with their lifestyle to enable them perform the Hajj properly. For women who are in their menstrual circle, the medical team has given a lot of education on that but the good news is that there is nothing wrong with being in a menstrual circle while performing Hajj”. She stressed Below are some pictures taken during the orientation: Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0256336062