Eight more children die in Mithi, Islamkot

A total of 224 children die in the past five months of the current year;
malnutrition and diseases taking a heavy toll on children and pregnant women

KARACHI: Eight more kids died at the Civil Hospital Mithi and Islamkot in the drought-hit Thar during the past two days raising the death toll to 224 during the past five months.

According to official figures, 398 minors died in 2015 and 326 in 2014 in the area. However, independent sources believe that the death toll was too high than the official figures.

DHO Tharparkar Dr Chandar Lal told The News that most of the victims were newborns and underweight.

Dr Lal further said so far 51,680 kids had been given medicines while 5,348 were admitted to six facilities in the district.

However, he was uncertain about 340 kids referred from Civil Hospital Mithi to the teaching hospitals of Hyderabad and children’s hospitals of Karachi.

Mr. Lal said he had directed the civil surgeon Mithi to write to the authorities of those hospitals whether the kids were alive or dead.  Insiders told The News that hardly 10% survived while the rest of 90% had died on their way to hospitals.

Talking to The News, parents at the Civil Hospital Mithi deplored that their kids had been forcibly discharged or referred to Hyderabad without providing fuel for the ambulances.

Civil surgeon Dr Iqbal Ahmed said he had been directed by the DHO to write letters about the referral cases.

He said during the past five months 166 kids had died at the civil hospital of the district. However, independent sources say over 360 kids have died so far in Thar this year.

On the other hand, 598 health workers and dispensers who were appointed in July last year are yet to get their salaries.

These unpaid workers had been posted at 180 closed dispensaries of the district. DC Tharparkar Dr Shahzad Tahir Thaheem told this correspondent that the situation was well under control.

He said the media was not giving due coverage to their sincere efforts to mitigate the sufferings of Tharis.

Dr Thaheem said four mobile dispensaries launched a couple of weeks ago were giving best healthcare facilities to the people.

He said the ninth phase of wheat distribution was going on smoothly in the entire Thar.

Dr Satram Roopani, District Coordinator Health and Nutrition Development Society, told this correspondent that the situation would get of control if Thar does not get rainfall in the coming few weeks.

He said malnutrition and diseases were taking a heavy toll on the kids and pregnant women.

Mohammad Arshad, an official at the Pak Osis, a company tasked with installing 750 RO plants, claimed that 450 plants had been installed and work on the remaining was in the full swing. He said 25 faulty plants were being repaired.