No respite: Death continues to ravage Thar as mismanagement affects healthcare

Nine children died in the district on Sunday, bringing the total death toll to 72 in 47 days.

HYDERABAD: The death toll of children in Tharparkar has risen to 72 in 47 days with nine more children reported to have died on Sunday. Three of these deaths occurred in Civil Hospital, Mithi, and the rest in the villages of Chachro and Diplo tehsils.

According to the paediatric ward's Dr Sahib Dino, six-month-old Teerath Kumar and 12-day-old Aslam, son of Soomar, died in the hospital. Four-year-old Akram, son of Mushtaq, died on the road minutes after his family was referred to a hospital in Hyderabad.



Dino said that two of the victims were diagnosed with acute pneumonia and one from haemorrhagic fever. Although the doctors cite several health conditions as the cause of these deaths, the government is criticised for failing to address prevalent malnutrition among children and pregnant mothers, which contribute to their failing health.

"My son died on the ventilator when the power went out," said Soomar, complaining that it took the staff around 40 minutes to start the generator. He claims that the doctors told him the generator operator was on leave and his replacement was called from some other government office.

Another bereaved family also complained of inadequate response from the doctors. "When I took my son to the hospital, they refused to admit him, saying that we should immediately take him to Hyderabad. We were still in the hospital's premises, after being referred to Hyderabad, when he died," bewailed Rajesh Kolhi, whose one-year-old son, Sumail, died on Saturday.

The other four deceased children were identified as seven-year-old Nadeem, son of Niaz Nohrio, in village Dairo and one-month-old Mehboob, son of Aleem, in village Khairo in Diplo tehsil and seven-day old Mumtaz, son of Gul Muhammad, who died in a private hospital in Islamkot tehsil. The fourth was a newborn child of Abdul Razzak who was delivered through the help of a midwife in village Dauri in Chachro tehsil.

The Sindh government has claimed that untrained midwives are the major cause of deaths of newborns. A four-month training programme for 665 lady health workers in midwifery has also been announced.

The former health minister, Dr Sagheer Ahmed claimed that the Sindh government in a recent advertisement had boasted about the performance of the health department. "How have they suddenly shifted their position to put blame on others?" he questioned.

Dr Ahmed also asked why he was always given the health portfolio if the chief minister was not satisfied with his performance. "Is the MQM also responsible for the road accident in Khairpur and the kidnapping of 22 people from the CM's district?" he questioned.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th, 2014.