ISLAMABAD: It is no secret that health, hygiene and a clean environment remain grave challenges for the people of Sindh. While visiting various hospitals at the district and taluka level, one can witness appalling sanitation conditions.
The health, hygiene and welfare of the people of the province has not been the priority of past and present rulers. Although millions of rupees are allocated for this purpose, but they have been notoriously misused. Wards, corridors and doctors’ rooms, receptions and toilets in government hospitals across the province are in a dilapidated condition. The conditions prevalent at the Civil Hospital, Larkano, Civil Hospital Sukkur, Civil Hospital Shikarpur, etc leave plenty to be desired. Most hospitals do not have properly functioning toilets. In fact, the toilets which such hospitals, dispensaries, basic health and rural health units have, provide a springboard for the spread of diseases. In many hospitals, such as the Civil Hospital, Jacobabad, patients and their attendants use unclean water, both for drinking and toilet purpose. Rats plague several civil hospitals in the province. Dogs and cats roam freely on the lawns and corridors of hospitals.
The sanitary conditions in Sindh’s hospitals and dispensaries need improvement on an urgent basis as lives of patients are at stake here.
Hashim Abro
Published in The Express Tribune, August 3rd, 2012.
