‘Job provision to educated women will improve situation’

Karachi

Following the provision of government jobs to educated women and training to them in Thar, there will be improvement in the health sector of the region, said Sindh Minister for Health Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar on Wednesday.

Over 160 children have died due to malnourishment in Thar over the past few months.

Addressing media personnel during visits to government hospitals and dispensaries in Diplo, Islamkot and Mithi, the minister warned that he would not tolerate any negligence in this regard. 

The local government was facilitating lady health workers hailing from Thar by providing them with employment opportunities in the health sector, he said.

In light of the pressing issue of raging infant mortality in the region, he Dahar traditional midwives were being educated to ensure safe deliveries of babies and 165 midwives had already been trained. He added that the health department was collaborating with the population welfare department, NGOs, Expanded Programme on Immunisation, Maternal Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) and other bodies to improve the living standard of people.

Forty-two mobile medical units (MMU), equipped with adequate medical facilities and staff, have been set up in Thar to provide health facilities to children less than five years of age. 

These MMUs, said the minister, would not only cater to the medical needs of pregnant women and affected children, but in case of severe illness they would play a role in referring and transporting patients to better hospitals in bigger cities.

Dahar also referred to the establishment of population welfare department camps at various points to raise awareness among women about the importance of gaps during pregnancies for maternal health and safe deliveries of babies.