Relief efforts: Lack of health facilities more pressing than drought, says NDMA
World Food Programme extends operations across Tharparkar district.
A Pakistan Army doctor tends to residents of Tharparkar who were affected by the drought and famine. PHOTO: PPI
ISLAMABAD:
Drought may not be the only factor impacting the death toll in Tharparkar, according to authorities working on crisis management in the area.
With a total of 126 District Health Units, clinics and hospitals catering to a population of 1.3 million, the lack of health facilities and rampant poverty in the area poses a greater problem than the drought, according to Member Operations National Disaster Management Authority Brigadier Kamran Zia.
A dry spell of five weeks followed by a drought has claimed the lives of 129 children over the last three months in Tharparkar. Mithi’s Civil Hospital has just one gynecologist and one child specialist on its staff. Zia said there is a dire need for hundreds of doctors in order to cope with the current crisis. A deficit of 178 medical personnel has been temporarily alleviated by the Sindh government, army staff, and civil society.
The Pakistan Army has established four medical camps in Diplo, Chachoro, Mithi and Nagarparkar with eight doctors; so far, they have treated 1,625 patients. Two more camps are in the works.
Thardeep Rural Development Programme (TRDP), a non-governmental organisation, states that of the total population of Tharparkar, 54.7 per cent are men while 45.3 per cent are women.
Speaking with The Express Tribune, World Food Programme Country Director Lola Castro said that water scarcity is just one contributing factor to infant mortality in the district. Castro said the agency took note of the prevailing situation last week and sent out a UN mission comprising representatives of three UN agencies - WFP, UNICEF and WHO – to carry out assessments. Subsequently, it was decided that operations will be extended from six union councils of Tharparkar to 28 union councils.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2014.
Drought may not be the only factor impacting the death toll in Tharparkar, according to authorities working on crisis management in the area.
With a total of 126 District Health Units, clinics and hospitals catering to a population of 1.3 million, the lack of health facilities and rampant poverty in the area poses a greater problem than the drought, according to Member Operations National Disaster Management Authority Brigadier Kamran Zia.
A dry spell of five weeks followed by a drought has claimed the lives of 129 children over the last three months in Tharparkar. Mithi’s Civil Hospital has just one gynecologist and one child specialist on its staff. Zia said there is a dire need for hundreds of doctors in order to cope with the current crisis. A deficit of 178 medical personnel has been temporarily alleviated by the Sindh government, army staff, and civil society.
The Pakistan Army has established four medical camps in Diplo, Chachoro, Mithi and Nagarparkar with eight doctors; so far, they have treated 1,625 patients. Two more camps are in the works.
Thardeep Rural Development Programme (TRDP), a non-governmental organisation, states that of the total population of Tharparkar, 54.7 per cent are men while 45.3 per cent are women.
Speaking with The Express Tribune, World Food Programme Country Director Lola Castro said that water scarcity is just one contributing factor to infant mortality in the district. Castro said the agency took note of the prevailing situation last week and sent out a UN mission comprising representatives of three UN agencies - WFP, UNICEF and WHO – to carry out assessments. Subsequently, it was decided that operations will be extended from six union councils of Tharparkar to 28 union councils.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2014.