Hajj & Umrah Travel Exhibition & Travel Vaccination Clinic
London, United Kingdom

Saturday 25^th June – Sunday 26^th June 2011 saw the Hajj People organise a unique travel exhibition focusing on Hajj & Umrah. The Hajj & Umrah exhibition was the 2^nd event whioch saw around 2,000 people attend the event which was held at the London Muslim Centre.

Mohsin Tutla, Events organiser said “With organisational efforts such as the CBH medical care initiative, the future of British pilgrim welfare is bright. The 2011 Hajj & Umrah Exhibition was a hugely successful event and I personally thank the CBH  for their participation in making this event a success. Those who have participated in this event have been writing in to Hajj People thanking the events team for organising an exhibition of such character which will benefit pilgrims who are now well informed of the packages available to them and tour operators for the exposure this event has given them”.

As part of the exhibition there was a live Travel vaccination clinic being ran by the CBH.

Meningitis jabs — essential for the religious pilgrimage of Hajj — can cost anything from £40 upto £80 from a GP, as they are classed as travel vaccines and are not available on the NHS.  In some cases people have paid upto £200 for a jab and anything from £10 – £30 for a vaccination certificate which is an essential part of obtaining a pilgrimage visa.

However concerns were raised few years ago and the Council of British Hajjis, a national charity working for the welfare of British pilgrims started to address the issue and delivered with local partners and local NHS a cost-price vaccination service.  Originally piloted in Bolton in 2009 around the time of the swine flu outbreak, the service has now taken off and over the course of the weekend over 400 people were vaccinated from Bolton to London, with numbers anticipated to rise in their thousands near the Hajj period in September.

People travelled from as far as Luton and Reading to attend the Hajj & Umrah Exhibition 2011 in London organised by the Hajj People with the CBH as the official event supporter to pick-up travel information and book pilgrimages and to get vaccinated.

Dr Syed Mohiduin, Leading the Hajj clinic was proud to be supporting the CBH to deliver pre-travel health and safety advice and administering the jabs “I have lead the FCO British Medical Hajj Delegation for 10 years and understand the value of pre-travel health clinics and need to be inoculated against ACWY and other infectious diseases for a healthy Hajj & Umrah and why I would encourage others to support this initiative. The vaccinations are in line with the Saudi authorities requirement that all pilgrims are inoculated with the ACWY Meningitis vaccine and is an essential requirement for pilgrims to produce certification for a pilgrimage visa”.

Rashid Mogradia, CEO at the CBH said “This has been a great exhibition with a lot of interest in the work we are doing in supporting and representing British travellers and pilgrims and delivering essential travel information such as the FCO Know Before You Campaign of which we are a partner and outlining  our plans to make the Hajj & Umrah industry more reputable through collaborative working and forming a United British Hajj & Umrah Council (UBHUC) for the betterment of pilgrims and tour operators”.

“The clinics were over subscribed and some people were disappointed for not booking in advance as we ran out of the vaccinations which were being offered at cost price”.

“At one stage we had the doctor write private prescriptions for pilgrims wanting to benefit from the free vaccination certificates being offered.  We have had to confirm another clinic on 10^th September 2011 in London due to demand and we expect the numbers to be in the thousands”.

“Our vision is to ensure easy access for travellers to obtain the necessary pre-travel support and advice and an affordable travel health clinic and to extend the support to pilgrims and tour operators in the holy land of Makkah and Median during the Hajj”.

The CBH are running a series of travel clinics across the UK over the coming months

Confirmed Dates and Locations in 2011:

• London 25th June COMPLETED
• Yorkshire 8^th July COMPLETED  & 9^th Sept 2011 *** Bookings being taken ***
• North West 4^th Sept *** Bookings being taken ***
• Scotland 10^thSept *** Bookings being taken ***
• South West  17^th Sept *** Bookings being taken ***
• Midlands 24^th Sept *** Bookings being taken ***

To book your slot or find the nearest clinic visit: www.cbhuk.org or email info@the-cbh.org.uk or call 0845 8334145.

If you would like to volunteer and join the CBH and help deliver this valuable service, then we want to hear from you so please contact us today.  We require GP’s, nurses and administrative support.

Ends.

Notes to Editors:

• The Council of British Hajjis (the CBH) is a voluntary organisation working at grass‐roots for the welfare of British Pilgrims. The CBH runs pre‐Hajj & Umrah health and safety advice seminars and ran the country’s first Hajj & Umrah specific travel vaccination clinics and is the first and only UK Hajj and Umrah specific organisation which has partnered with the FCO’s Know Before You go Campaign http://www.fco.gov.uk/travel to bring about key travel tips and advice for all travellers. CBHUK have also raised a national volunteer doctors & healthcare professionals recruitment campaign to support the clinics planned across the UK.
  For all media enquiries or for further info contact CBHUK on tel: 0845 833 4145, email: info@the‐cbh.org.uk , www.the‐cbh.org.uk or www.cbhuk.org .
• ACWY vaccinations is in line with the Saudi authorities requirements that all pilgrims or persons from abroad wishing to enter Hajj sites must provide proof of vaccination against meningitis administered a minimum of 10 days prior to arrival and a maximum of three years, with authorities in the country of origin also administering adults and children of two years of age and over the ACYW135 vaccination. The cost of ACWY varies across the country with GP’s charging anything from £35 ‐ £80, discouraging many to take the inoculations and putting themselves and others at risk. The cost and health impact is far greater when pilgrims return back to the UK infected and the costs to the NHS in treating them.