Ostrich approach: Four more children die as Sindh govt repeats old rhetoric

At least 45 children have died in the drought-affected region in the last 39 days

MITHI: The deaths of four more children were reported in Tharparkar on Saturday, bringing the total number of deceased to 45 in the last 39 days.

The latest victims were identified as three-day-old Sandeep Kumar, who passed away in Civil Hospital, Mithi; a newborn boy in Kalhori village, another newborn boy in Diplo village, Gara Kharch and a six-year-old girl, Kanta. The latter was transferred in a critical condition from Mithi to Civil Hospital, Hyderabad.

According to Dr Dileep Nindani, a child specialist at Civil Hospital, Mithi, most of the deaths of children under the age of five years can be attributed to physical and immunological weaknesses as a result of malnutrition. In a large number of such cases, the mothers were found to be weak and had given birth to premature babies.

Dr Nindani claimed that most patients are brought to the hospital when they are in critical condition, leaving the medical staff with little option in the form of treatment. Most children in the villages are delivered at home with the help of dais, who are largely unskilled. These dais are often helpless when complications arise due to premature births.

Locals claim that the government's rhetoric of constituting committees and 'taking notices' has done nothing to improve the lives of the district's residents. Government officials, when they make a photo-op visit to Tharparkar, usually only visit the Civil Hospital, Mithi. In the drought-hit region that is spread over 22,000 kilometres, Civil hospital is often too far for residents to visit. Abject poverty and lack of transportation facilities make a visit to the hospital all the more daunting. Moreover, the Basic Health Units (BHUs) and primary healthcare centres (read: the ones that are still functional) do not have the necessary medication or treatment facilities that are required by these children.

In the absence of such facilities, residents of Tharparkar will continue to face the losses of their loved ones while the government continues to blame 'Mother Nature'.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9^th, 2014.