In denial: 11 more children die in Tharparkar as govt argues over numbers

The death toll for children in just two days has risen to 20

HYDERABAD/ MITHI:

The unforgiving drought in Tharparkar claimed the lives of 11 more children on Monday, taking the toll of just the past two days to 20 in the face of a seemingly perfunctory government response. At least 83 children have died over the last 48 days in the wretched desert region, which is witnessing its third consecutive year of drought.

Five of the deaths on Monday occurred in hospitals, while the other six died in their villages. Two newborns, the five-day-old son of Madad Ali and the six-day-old son of Ahmed Bux, died in Civil Hospital, Mithi, the only hospital in the district with a dedicated paediatric ward.

Twelve-year-old Rubina Samejo, the daughter of Rehmatullah Samejo, died in Civil Hospital, Umerkot district. According to her father, the doctors said that she was suffering from acute pneumonia. Meanwhile, one-week-old Karamat, son of Hubdar Rind, and nine-month-old Bushra, daughter of Ibrahim Kumbhar, died in Chachro taluka hospital.



The deaths of six infants were also reported from different villages in Diplo, Mithi and Chachro tehsils. These included one-month-old Ayaz, son of Haneef from Nibrakar village, five-day-old Ghafar, son of Muhammad Mithan from Maur Dahi village, one-month-old Hinda, daughter of Bhanwaar Meghwadh from Jaitar village, the three-week-old daughter of Farooq Nohrio from Raney Jo Thar, eight-month-old Awais, son of Akbar Bajeer from Bajeer Paroh, and 10-day-old Seema, daughter of Moula Bux from Mordahi village.

"My daughter had been admitted to the nursery in Civil Hospital, Mithi, since November 8," said Nohrio, who belongs to Diplo tehsil. "Yesterday, they discharged her, saying that she was fine but she died this morning."

The district health department disputes these deaths. According to district health officer (DHO) Dr Abdul Jaleel Bhurgari, "The figure is wrong."

Dr Bhurgari claimed that only newborn children and premature babies were dying. "They weigh less than they should," he said. "There was even a case of a baby weighing only 800 grams at birth." Despite this clear admission of infants being underweight, however, the DHO denied that malnutrition was killing the children.

"Most of the deaths are caused by pneumonia, sepsis and other health conditions, and there have been very few cases of underfed children," he asserted. "How can a breastfeeding baby who is only a day or two old suffer from undernourishment?"

Notwithstanding the official stance of sweeping the facts under the rug, the district administration has submitted a list of 275 deceased children to the Sindh government for compensation for their families. The list contains the details of those children who died in the 11 months until October 2014.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2014.