Two more infants died at the Mithi Civil Hospital, in Sindh’s drought-hit district of Tharparkar on Friday, due to the health problems caused by chronic malnutrition prevailing in the region for a long time, said the sources within the hospital.
Both died in the only civil hospital of the district, which is claimed to be one of the best health facilities in the province.
With the death of two more toddlers in Tharparkar, the number of total fatalities this year has reached 545 so far.
Talking to media persons, parents and relatives of both dead and ailing kids complained of an acute shortage of life-saving drugs and other facilities in the civil hospital, further claiming that the condition of the basic health units and dispensaries in their respective areas were in shambles.
Thari parents said that despite the tall claims by the high-ups of the Sindh government, they were lacking all the basic amenities of life – including safe drinking water, education and healthcare facilities – at their villages for the past many years.
“The RO plants which were installed to provide safe drinking water to the people of Thar have ceased to function long ago, forcing us to drink contaminated water of the wells and shallow ponds,” they added.
They complained that there was no proper mechanism in their villages through which trained lady health workers could examine the expecting women, who often died before being rushed to big towns for delivering the babies.
“Only blaming child marriages behind the unabated deaths of kids is irrational and an old rhetoric by the officials,” they added.
The doctors, who examined the ailing infants, claimed that the toddlers were often rushed to the hospital in gasping conditions and were underweight. They said that those, who had lost their lives and others who were dying, were also underweight and blamed the premature births on child marriages and the aversion by Tharis to using contraceptives. The health officials, however, denied sharing details of the kids who were referred to the teaching hospitals for better treatment.
It is pertinent to mention here that Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, while resuming the hearing on suo moto notice on Thursday, had expressed his dismay over the performance of the Sindh government concerning the health facilities across the desert district.
The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the Sindh government’s report on the provision of health services in the desert area of Thar and ordered the provincial government to ensure the provision of all health-related facilities at the Mithi Civil Hospital.
