Thar needs help

The Sindh High Court in Pakistan has taken up a case related to frequent deaths in Tharparkar. According to the disclosure of the secretary health department of Sindh, around 1400 children died in the last three years because of multiple health reasons. This disclosure is an eye opener not for Pakistan but for all the organisations working for children all around the globe. Some international organisations boast that the number of death of newborn children has been reduced across the world, but the figures from Pakistan, South Africa and other countries show that the number of death has been increased. Institutions have less access to far flung areas, where mostly underprivileged societies are living. Thar has a population of around 2 million people. This region is the most neglected. People in Thar, especially women and their newborn children, are dying because of malnutrition, drought, chronic poverty, lack of proper health facilities, and other related water and sanitation reasons.

Good governance is now a dream in Pakistan and the Sindh government has done nothing for these people. Hospitals in the region do not have enough doctors, nurses, paramedic staff and medicines. Funds given by international donors and civil society are also not being utilised properly. During the last 30 years, the documented donation offered by some NGOs is around Rs30 billion rupees, but still the plight of children and women couldn’t be minimised. Pregnant women face the problem of scarcity of food, water borne diseases and do not have access to healthcare facility. The government and the civil society should work together to resolve this issue of frequent death of children.

Aijaz Ali Khuwaja

Karachi