$7.4m USAID relief: Ready-to-use food for children ‘untraceable’
Health ministry seeks explanation from provinces over distribution of supplies .
Health ministry seeks explanation from provinces over distribution of supplies. PHOTO: AP
ISLAMABAD:
The Federal health ministry has sought an explanation from provincial governments especially from the Sindh government and its international donor agencies over the distribution of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) supplies worth $7.4 million for children suffering from chronic malnutrition across the country.
Earlier in February last year USAID handed over 1,330 metric tons of RUTF supplies to Unicef to address the needs of 80,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition aged between six to 59 months by distributing it in coordination with the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (NHSRC).
“It is almost a year now and thus far the federal government has not received any details regarding the distribution of RUTF supplies from provincial governments and international donor agencies,” said Dr Baseer Achakzai, Head of the Nutrition Directorate, Ministry of NHSRC.
Talking to The Express Tribune, he said the federal health ministry has called a meeting in the first week of May in Islamabad with the provincial government to seek details regarding the distribution of RUTF supplies.
The focus of the meeting will be more on Sindh government in relation to the ongoing drought in Tharparkar where the situation is still worrisome, he said.
“The federal government has no clue whether the children in Tharparkar have been given this ready-to-use food or not,” he said.
Meanwhile talking to The Express Tribune Pertab Shivani, executive director of Search, a local organisation working for the relief of famine-hit population in Tharparkar said the situation in the region is worsening instead of improving.
So far this year around 231 children have reportedly died from chronic malnutrition and other related causes taking the death toll since March last year to this year to 2,455, he said.
He said after March this year wheat has not been distributed among the people in the region and it has become very difficult to survive.
Moreover, last year Sindh Chief Minister announced that all the families who had lost their children due to chronic malnutrition would be given Rs0.2 million but only 200 families were given only Rs0.1 million and the remaining 2000 families are still waiting to receive the promised cash, he said.
When contacted Mustafa Khoso, tehsildar Mithi , Tharparkar said, the Sindh provincial government is making all-out efforts to improve the situation in the region and so far things are under control.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2015.
The Federal health ministry has sought an explanation from provincial governments especially from the Sindh government and its international donor agencies over the distribution of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) supplies worth $7.4 million for children suffering from chronic malnutrition across the country.
Earlier in February last year USAID handed over 1,330 metric tons of RUTF supplies to Unicef to address the needs of 80,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition aged between six to 59 months by distributing it in coordination with the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (NHSRC).
“It is almost a year now and thus far the federal government has not received any details regarding the distribution of RUTF supplies from provincial governments and international donor agencies,” said Dr Baseer Achakzai, Head of the Nutrition Directorate, Ministry of NHSRC.
Talking to The Express Tribune, he said the federal health ministry has called a meeting in the first week of May in Islamabad with the provincial government to seek details regarding the distribution of RUTF supplies.
The focus of the meeting will be more on Sindh government in relation to the ongoing drought in Tharparkar where the situation is still worrisome, he said.
“The federal government has no clue whether the children in Tharparkar have been given this ready-to-use food or not,” he said.
Meanwhile talking to The Express Tribune Pertab Shivani, executive director of Search, a local organisation working for the relief of famine-hit population in Tharparkar said the situation in the region is worsening instead of improving.
So far this year around 231 children have reportedly died from chronic malnutrition and other related causes taking the death toll since March last year to this year to 2,455, he said.
He said after March this year wheat has not been distributed among the people in the region and it has become very difficult to survive.
Moreover, last year Sindh Chief Minister announced that all the families who had lost their children due to chronic malnutrition would be given Rs0.2 million but only 200 families were given only Rs0.1 million and the remaining 2000 families are still waiting to receive the promised cash, he said.
When contacted Mustafa Khoso, tehsildar Mithi , Tharparkar said, the Sindh provincial government is making all-out efforts to improve the situation in the region and so far things are under control.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2015.