SC-constituted body seeks data on child mortality in Thar

Data for Thar is still being collected, that from other districts is ‘unsatisfactory’, says DHO

MITHI: The Supreme Court-mandated committee, formed to monitor and resolve issues in Tharparkar, sought on Friday data on the child mortality rate (of children under the age of five) in the district and segregated data on neonatal deaths.

During a meeting, Tharparkar district health officer (DHO) Irshad Ahmed Memon informed the committee members that data for child mortality from districts other than Tharparkar was “unsatisfactory,” while data from Tharparkar for the past five years was being validated.

Addressing the meeting, Sindh services and general administration department official Dr Riaz Ahmed Siddiqui explained that data from districts other than Tharparkar was collected so as to improve healthcare services. He asked the health director-general to provide assistance in gathering data from other districts.

The committee also reviewed the schedule of new expenditure and budget allocation in the health sector, directing the health director-general to allocate funds for Tharparkar and get the district’s schedule approved on a priority basis. The committee members also instructed that the health secretary inform the finance department in this regard.

Memon told the committee that there was no shortage of medicines in the district except for anti-rabies vaccines (ARVs). At this, the committee convener asked him to write to the National Institute of Health, seeking ARV for the district.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2020.