A health crisis: Thar records 36 child deaths in one month

Situation seems to point towards a severe disparity in access to factors like healthcare, hygiene and nutrition

KARACHI:

A harrowing report of over 36 child deaths in district Tharparkar, caused by various diseases in the first month of 2022, has opened a can of worms for the provincial government.

As the largest district in Sindh, and one with the lowest human development index rating, the deaths seem to point towards a severe disparity in access to multiple factors like healthcare, hygiene and nutrition, which has long been a stumbling block for the province.

Per local reports, a majority of children that succumbed to diseases were either newborns or infants; including eight children from Mithi, seven from Islamkot, six from Diplo, three from Chachro, seven from Nangarparkar, and five from other adjoining areas. Their causes of death are said to be linked to issues like maternal complications, and conditions including anemia, pneumonia, measles, and respiratory diseases.

Despite the shocking numbers, child mortality has been a longstanding issue for Tharparkar district, which is home to the largest Hindu population in the country. In 2021, more than 600 children were reported to have died in Thar and its adjoining districts due to various complications and diseases. The year before that, it was 500 deaths, all believed to be a product of inaccessible healthcare.

Hyderabad’s Deputy Director-General Health Dr Irshad Memon while confirming the deaths of the 36 children, said that the children born in Tharparkar district and its adjoining areas suffer from malnutrition and other complications, including iron deficiency stemming from early marriages. “There are more than ten children in a family, which leads to malnutrition and hereditary diseases in women and they tend to have severely underweight babies.

It is due to lack of education and awareness in Upper Sindh that various medical problems occur in mothers and children, while severe weather conditions also have a negative impact on their health,” the deputy opined, explaining the cause of deaths.

Implying that the government is aware of the issue, he said that four awareness centres have been set up in the Tharparkar District on an emergency, on the behest of Health Secretary Zulfiqar Shah, where special nutrition and medical assistance is provided to children under the supervision of a paediatrician.

In addition to that, he said that the district is also being provided with special, nutrition-rich food to aid the region's food shortage and address malnutrition in children. "It is however incorrect to say that malnutrition is a Thar-issue and solely responsible for child mortality. The women here do not take care of their health, and due to social constraints, rural women do not even inform the doctors about their medical problems, which gives rise to health issues in their children," Memon asserted.

According to Tharparkar District Health Officer Dr Pir G Hussain, various medical camps have also been set up across Tharparkar on directions of Health Minister Dr Azra Pecho and the provincial health secretary. These camps have been providing supplements to the district's anemic children, in addition to screening and monitoring the nutritional status of those severely affected.

However, despite the leaps and bounds the government claims to have made in terms of increasing access to healthcare, the 36 child deaths in a single month have raised question marks over the ground realities of these schemes. It is a harrowing case that demands extensive probing so that the underlying problem is acknowledged and remedied before Thar loses another child.