It’s third year in row. Should we consider it a natural calamity, beyond human control, and therefore let’s go back to sleep? Infant death toll in Thar this year has already crossed 100 but we are ordering each other to send food supplies and health teams, issuing self-praising statements of ‘under-control situation’ and counter statements by opposition leaders negating the same, attending photo-sessions with food trucks. Soon 2016 winter will be over and all these deaths will become part of the statistics till 2017 winter time. It’s very obvious that for the Sindh government all these deaths are a routine matter, they don’t care about allegations of incompetence and lethargy behaviour.
Under political and civil society pressure, few investigation reports were compiled blaming out-break of water-borne diseases, malnutrition, drought and famine, pre-mature deaths, illiteracy, inadequate health facilities in such a vast desert. But none of these so-called investigation reports touches the basic questions: why infants and in winter only, why no adults and why not in summer?
I believe this issue is beyond the capabilities of government-funded local health departments to find the root cause(s). We should seek international expertise such as from World Health Organisation (WHO) to investigate the infants’ deaths on scientific grounds, not to just file the case. It’s WHO taking lead in fight against different outbreaks across the world, most recent was Ebola which is now followed by Zika virus in South America. Human life shall get priority over ego not to involve international expertise. Why wait for allegations and taunts from neighbours for neglecting religious minorities (an overwhelming majority of Tharis belong to Hindu religion)?
No point in disturbing Sindh government from its deep sleep; it’s an issue for federal health ministry. Please wake up and fix it.
MASOOD KHAN
Jubail, Saudi Arabia
