For his part, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom emphasized that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has achieved continuous successes as the host of the largest religious event with a human gathering in the world, namely, the Hajj season, which includes more than 3 million pilgrims from 184 countries. He said "You all know that the health and safety of the human crowds is an important and sensitive issue for global health security, as it not only poses a threat to the population, but it may also deplete the capabilities of health systems beyond their capabilities, not to mention the political and economic consequences." On the occasion, Director General of Global Center for Mass Gathering Medicine Anas Khan delivered a speech at the conference saying that the Center has worked for nearly 10 years on developing all proactive and preventive measures, including planning and preparedness to stand on the levels of emergency medical services, hospitals and infection control in addition to strengthening the entry points and areas of risk assessment to reduce them as well as leadership, control, communication, awareness of the masses and coordination at the national, regional and international levels in a manner that guarantees and enhances the safety of the human crowds in Hajj, Umrah, and recreational, cultural and sporting seasons over the years. --SPA 01:27 LOCAL TIME 22:27 GMT 0043 www.spa.gov.sa/w1227186