Who killed the doctor?

Both society and govt bear responsibility for pushing a highly qualified young man to the point of taking his own life

Ayoung medical doctor, the sole breadwinner for his three minor children and wife, has committed suicide in Sindh after he was not paid his salary for the past four months. He was appointed by the provincial government on contractual basis to attend to Covid-19 patients. The physician killed himself a week ago, but the incident received little attention in the media as such news do. After getting fed up with official apathy, the doctor’s dependents and colleagues have highlighted the issue. The physician’s relatives are unable to support his wife and children. The young doctor has apparently been driven to take to the ultimate step due to his desperate economic circumstances. He has left no suicide note.

Both society and the government bear the responsibility for pushing a highly qualified young man to the point of taking his own life. When one is left high and dry and sees no help coming from any quarter, they are left with no choice but to turn their backs on society itself. Last year the provincial government had hired 1,100 doctors and 1,600 nurses on contract basis to deal with the situation arising out of the coronavirus pandemic. Informed circles claim that these physicians and nurses are being paid with considerable delay. This claim should be viewed in the light of the delays in the payment of salaries of other government departments’ employees and the inordinate delays in clearance of retired employees’ pension papers and their dues.

A total of 767 persons have committed suicide between 2016 and 2020 in Sindh. These are officially recorded cases. Tharparkar, Badin, Dadu, Umerkot and Sanghar districts top the list of suicides. Considering the gravity of the situation, the government should set up a commission to look into the causes of the rising incidents of self-annihilation and recommend corrective measures to stop the dangerous trend. How many suicides will be attributed to mental health issues? The authorities should be more focused on the economic needs of the people.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2021.

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