Dying infants of Thar

Letter April 19, 2018
Poor post-natal care have also critically added to the increasing infant mortality rate

HYDERABAD: Previously, news of vast number of deaths caused by the outbreak of diseases such as measles, cholera from Sindh province have been widely reported in the media. Yet no substantial measures were taken by the Sindh government which rather conveniently blamed the occurrence of tragic incidents on natural causes, or ones that are beyond its control.

Now, the most recent from Tharparkar district of Sindh are the deaths of 27 children within just 16 days of the ongoing month. The deaths, as reported by various sources, occurred due to the rising temperature and more importantly, because of the lack of proper and sufficient medical facilities. Malnourishment and poor post-natal care have also critically added to the increasing infant mortality rate in the province.

The provincial government which has mostly allocated its funds towards a limited scale of infrastructure initiatives that too only in the urban parts of the province must also take measures on an emergency basis to control the situation in Tharparkar.

Uzma Asif

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19th, 2018.

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