By Ismaila Jimoh, Abuja
The FCT Muslim Pilgrima Welfare Board has concluded three days Mandatory Medical Screening Exercise it organised for the 2026 intending pilgrims for spiritual exercise in Saudi Arabia.
According to a statement made available to journalists on Thursday in Abuja by the Board spokesman, Ahmad Saleh, he said the Three- Day Program was organized to screen the intending pilgrims to ascertain their physical health and mental fitness before they embark on the spiritual journey to Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj exercise.
He said the Board in collaboration with the FCT Public Health Department has screened the intending pilgrims from Abaji, Kwali and Gwagwalada Area Councils on the first day. Meanwhile, pilgrims from Bwari, Kuje and the Municipal Area Council (AMAC), were screened on the second day, accordingly. Lastly, intending pilgrims from the Headquarters, Annex and the HSS Desks of the Board, were screened on the third day of the program.
Saleh disclosed that the screening exercise was in accordance with the Saudi Arabia 2026 Hajj policies on Health matters, which says intending pilgrims must be free from the Nine (9) ailments that can deter them from performing the Hajj this year. The Ailments include; major organs failure (Heart, Liver, Kidney, Lungs), psychiatric/ neurological disorder, chronic/ active cancer undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy, tuberculosis, haemorrhagic fever, associated dementia, pregnancy (at all level), amongst others.
He said Medical Certificate of Fitness, examined and signed by a competent medical doctor, must be obtained by the intending pilgrims and upload the same on the Nusuk- Masar platform, before issuing a Visa, which is prerequisite for the spiritual journey.
It can be recalled that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), in line with the 2026 Hajj policies on Health, had made it mandatory for every State Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Board (SMPWB) to screen its intending pilgrims for this year’s Hajj, by undergoing a full medical screening exercise, in order to ascertain the intending pilgrims’ physical health and mental fitness before undertaking the spiritual journey.
