As many as two more malnourished children in Tharparkar lost their lives on Sunday, taking the death toll to 50 in 17 days.
One month old, Zeenat, passed away in Civil hospital Mithi and a four months old baby breathed his last in Talqa hospital in Chachro. More than 80 children are under treatment in different hospitals while three have been shifted to Civil Hospital Mithi as their condition turned critical. On the other hand, the health department has claimed that four teams have been sent to far-flung areas. The plight of children in southern Sindh province highlights the provincial government’s incompetence to deal with the situation. Tharparkar district in the famous Thar desert spreads over 120,000 square miles across the Indo-Pak subcontinent.
Though 15 per cent of the desert lies in Pakistan, high rates of child mortality largely due to acute malnutrition pose a major challenge to the local authorities, humanitarian organisations and civil society groups working in the area. Reportedly, Civil Hospital in Mithi lacks funding, staff members remain absent and medicines are scarce in the area. Lack of resources has further added to the misery of the locals.