Two children die of malnutrition in Thar every day

ISLAMABAD: Two children are dying every day of malnutrition-related causes in Tharparkar which has the lowest Human Development Index in the Sindh province.

More than 1,380 children died of malnutrition, hunger and famine since 2014 in this district while a total of 2,800 children have died of poor nutrition, measles and other epidemics in Pakistan during this period.

“Lives are at stake. Food insecurity is at the root of the crisis. 76% population has no food stocks at their home, not even for a single day. Hundreds of thousands of livestock have died as the crisis progressed,” stated a 32-page report prepared by the National Commission of Human Rights (NCHR), which warned both the federal and provincial governments of a serious danger to children’s lives in Tharparkar in coming months.

The collected data revealed that 1,380 children died of malnutrition-related issues in Tharparkar in the last 30 months. An estimated 329 children died this year, 670 in 2015 and 381 died of malnutrition, famine and poor nutrition in 2014 in the district.

“State organisations like top disaster control bodies — National Disaster Management Authority and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities and metrological departments, etc — remained callous so far which is unfortunate. Thar has one district hospital, two rural health centers and three Taluka hospitals to handle a population of 1.3 million people,” reads the report titled: “The Haunting Footprints of Drought, Hunger and Poor Governance,” exclusively obtained by Geo News.

obtained by Geo News. Around half of the population falls below the poverty line in this district where only 250 of 2, 300 villages have road access, revealed the report submitted to the National Assembly on Wednesday.

“Occupation of Chachro Hospital by Pakistan Rangers, proliferation of madressahs and religious outfits like Jamat-ud-Dawa in Tharparkar are also key issues,” read the report but Senator Taj Haider of Pakistan Peoples Party said “provincial government is keeping any eye on banned outfits operating in district.”

As many as 189 dispensaries established across districts were not functioning since months, even government doctors refused to serve in Tharparkar, revealed the commission’s report which also sensed mismanagement in a contract worth Rs5 billion where Pakistan Oasis Ltd. was supposed to be installed 750 water plants by last year. It also recommended immediate termination of this contract.

The case of recent drought in Tharparkar illustrates deficits in functioning of these bodies as well as inadequacies in the relief operations on account of political rivalries, corruption and poor governance, members of the commission observed.

It is plausible to imagine that there is a deep nexus of negligence, incompetency and lack of political will and commitment to citizens’ human rights behind the crisis, observed Chairman of the commission Justice (R) Ali Nawaz. “Thar crisis was in every way preventable because there was never any dearth of data, information and updates on developments in the area. It says much about provincial and federal government along with entire state machinery failed to take note of successive deaths, crumbling of the healthcare infrastructure, decline I access to food, rapid loss of livelihoods.”

The commission also asked federal government that it may divert allocation of Rs750 million given to ministry of human rights besides its regular budget to Tharparkar for relief of suffering people. It also recommended immediate transfer of local administrators who are doing no service to the suffering population.

The commission further observed that on the one hand “lives are at stake in Thar” and on the other there are elements in bureaucracy, political set up and state machinery that have criminally neglected their duties. “If they will not be taken to task, it will be clear message to those running the government and the citizens that playing with lives of people is completely tolerated by state of Pakistan,” it observed.

The commission also recommended that the Essential Services Act should be imposed to compel doctors to serve in Tharparkar and doctors must stop their private practices. In its recommendations, the commission further recommended that a university must be established with departments that are specifically relevant to Tharparkar peculiar conditions be established which may be include centers on arid zone, engineering, development, agriculture, science and social sciences among others. Colleges and vocational training centers also need to be opened.

Proliferation of religious intuitions is serious concern in Thar despite fact that it has vast majority of Hindu community, rather than Muslim population, reads the report. “We watch this situation with utmost alarm as state exercises limited control over functioning of madressahs over there,” observed members of the commission.