480 newborns die at Mithi Civil Hospital in Tharparkar in eight months

As many as 480 newborn babies, nearly 21% of the total, died at the Civil Hospital Mithi’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) during the first eight months of 2026, according to hospital records, amid what sources describe as a worsening health crisis involving mother-child malnutrition, low birth weight and other medical complications.

The NICU monthly record showed that 2,273 newborns were admitted for treatment between January and August, of whom 480 died. The highest number of newborn deaths was recorded in May.

"In January, 70 newborns lost their lives in the NICU, followed by 39 in February, 54 in March, 47 in April, 75 in May, 65 in June, 69 in July and 61 in August," according to the data.

The data further revealed that around 61% recovery rate was witnessed in the NICU during these eight months, with 1,387 babies discharged after recovering at the facility. During the same period, 106 newborns were referred to other hospitals for further treatment and 126 babies were discharged from the hospital against medical advice.

Admissions also peaked in May, when 365 newborns were brought to the NICU for treatment.

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The NICU monthly admission figures were 232 in January, 200 in February, 240 in March, 274 in April, 305 in June, 348 in July and 309 in August.

Sources attributed the vulnerability of newborns in Tharparkar to a combination of malnutrition, maternal malnutrition, infectious diseases and early marriages that contribute to premature births and low birth weight.

When contacted for the reasons behind the high newborn death toll, Mithi Civil Hospital Surgeon Dr Shahid Jhanjhi did not respond to the query or provide the requested information.

Tharparkar District Health Officer Dr Lekhraj Sarangani also declined to provide details, saying that his office did not collect data on newborn mortality and that hospitals had been handed over to the Sindh Peoples Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI).

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However, Mithi Civil Hospital, five taluka hospitals and 95 medical dispensaries remain under the administrative control of the District Health Officer.

Sources said that newborn deaths were also reported at the district’s seven THQ and rural health centres. However, the Tharparkar Health Department has not made the figures for these facilities public, leaving the overall scale of neonatal mortality in Tharparkar unclear.