Govt, NGOs join hands to control suicide cases in Thar

SUKKUR: Various government departments and non-government organisations (NGOs) have joined hands to curb the increasing trend of suicides in Tharparkar district. Reports said an MoU was signed by various organisations, including Sindh Mental Health Authority (SMHA), Thar Foundation, Sindh Health Department, Sir Cowasjee Institute of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences Hyderabad (SCIPBS) and Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences (LUMHS), and have decided to provide counseling services to mentally disturbed patients. The MoU is aimed at providing free of cost services of counseling, treatment, follow-up and medicines to patients under one-year pilot project. Reports said the Thar Foundation would set up remote counseling through tele-health services in local languages, while a mobile application would also be launched to monitor and report vulnerable cases and logistics to the partners. The MoU said the SMHA would act as coordinating partner to establish Thar tele-health services connecting with talukas of Mithi and Thar and supported by SCIPBS, which would provide technical support, expertise for counseling, evaluation and management of vulnerable cases, training of the counselors and an institutional care to chronic and needy cases. According to the MoU, the district administration would also play a major role in emergency rescue support, while health department will provide its infrastructure and community health workforce for training and counseling services, and provision of medicines. Speaking on the occasion, SMHA Chairman, Senator Dr Karim Khawaja, said Tharparkar is considered as one of the districts of Sindh where cases of suicides are on the rise due to variety of psycho and socioeconomic reasons.PPP MNA Dr Mahesh Malani said the major reason behind 80 percent of the suicide cases in Thar is psychosocial disorder and not poverty or unemployment. Deputy Commissioner Tharparkar Muhammad Nawaz Soho said 66 cases were recorded in the first half of the year, out of which 40 belong to Hindu community. He said administration would provide all possible support to the project and the communities to identify vulnerable patients for treatments.